PJM emergencies drive $2,000/MWh electricity prices for Virginia data centers

PJM Interconnection, the United States’ largest grid operator, issued a federal‑level emergency warning and a series of alerts – Hot Weather, Maximum Generation, Load Management and Low Voltage – as an extreme heat wave pushed electricity demand toward record levels across its 13‑state footprint. Generator outages and overloaded transmission lines, combined with soaring cooling needs in data‑center‑dense Northern Virginia, forced PJM to tighten emergency measures to avert blackouts.

Wholesale electricity prices in the Northern Virginia hub surged past $2,000 per megawatt‑hour, far above the typical $40/MWh, straining businesses that consume large loads. The strain prompted Henrico County, home to dozens of data centers, to warn of a roughly 25 % rise in electricity costs for local institutions beginning July 1. PJM, which serves about 67 million people in the Mid‑Atlantic region, anticipates a new peak demand record this week and is accelerating a backstop reliability auction to secure additional capacity.

The situation highlights the growing impact of data‑center expansion on grid reliability and electricity markets in the United States.