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Power Demand Jumps From Illinois to New Jersey Amid Bitter Cold

Power Demand Jumps From Illinois to New Jersey Amid Bitter Cold

(Bloomberg) -- Demand on the largest U.S. electric grid surged to the highest in more than a year Tuesday as frigid weather pushed furnaces and radiators into overdrive.

Load on PJM Interconnection LLC’s grid that stretches from New Jersey to Illinois hit 131,000 megawatts at 8 a.m. Eastern Time, the most since January 2018, according to Genscape data. Power prices jumped to as high as $1,372 a megawatt-hour.

Power Demand Jumps From Illinois to New Jersey Amid Bitter Cold

With cold weather forecast to ebb in the region, electricity demand and prices are declining. Power for delivery Wednesday near Philadelphia for the hour starting at 9 a.m. sank 42 percent, to $43.34 a megawatt-hour.

Temperatures in Philadelphia dipped to as low as 13 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 11 Celsius) at about 7 a.m. Tuesday morning. They are forecast to hit 45 degrees Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Power Demand Jumps From Illinois to New Jersey Amid Bitter Cold

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Martin in New York at cmartin11@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Doan at ldoan6@bloomberg.net, Joe Ryan, Will Wade

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