As a heatwave suffocates the East Coast of the United States, the region’s power grid operator has issued an emergency alert warning of greater demand.
More Americans are turning on their air conditioners, prompting PJM Interconnection LLC, which operates the power grid in 13 states spanning Washington, D.C. to Chicago, to declare a low-level emergency Tuesday.
“Temperatures in the 90s over much of the PJM footprint are driving increased electricity demand this week during the heart of the shoulder season,” the grid operator said, referring to the period between a destination’s peak and off-peak seasons.
Higher-than-average temperatures have been reported across much of PJM’s territory in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. D.C. was expected to hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37C) on Tuesday — almost 25 degrees above average. Heat advisories have been issued in many of the states within the grid operator’s region, including in New York City, where temperatures were set to reach 95 degrees (35C) Tuesday. The average temperature in the Big Apple this time last year was about 63 degrees (17C), according to Weather.gov.
As power supplies become strained amid the heatwave, the U.S. Energy Department issued an emergency order authorizing PJM to deploy backup generation at data centers and other facilities to help prevent blackouts, according to Bloomberg.
There are approximately 4,287 data centers across the U.S., many of which are located in Virginia, according to the Data Center map project. The centers have been causing a strain on the grid, even before the added pressure from the heatwave.
Power prices in PJM’s region, which includes Virginia and other data center heavy areas, jumped by almost 76 percent year-over-year. The increase is largely due to the high demand for electricity from data centers, according to a report by Monitoring Analytics, an independent monitor of PJM.
The report found that the total cost of wholesale power in the region increased to $136.53 per megawatt-hour during the first quarter of 2026, up from $77.78 during the first quarter of 2025, E&E News by Politico reported.
The rapid construction of data centers across the country to power artificial intelligence is causing electricity prices to increase and placing a strain on the grid, according to the report. The centers are also creating “heat islands” on the land around them — warming them up to 16 degrees, researchers have warned.
The localized warming effect is estimated to affect more than 340 million people worldwide.
In a statement, PJM said the rising prices “are an accurate indication of the tightening supply and demand condition in the wholesale markets and the markets are functioning correctly by appropriately reflecting these conditions.”
“PJM recognizes the impact of these costs on consumers,” the PJM spokesperson said, noting that the company is working with local officials to address the consumer impacts.
