Power Prices Soar as Energy Emergency Worsens in US Northeast

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 05: People gather on a lawn at Central Park on an unseasonably warm spring day in Manhattan on May 05, 2026, in New York City. A recent summer forecast from AccuWeather warns of the possibility of historic heat and severe storms, with the number of 90-degree days predicted to be near or above the historical average. Photo by Spencer Platt /Photographer: Spencer Platt/Gett

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(Bloomberg) — Power prices surged across the US Northeast as a worsening energy emergency raised the specter of rolling blackouts.

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Triple-digit heat in some of North America’s largest population centers strained electricity supplies, prompting the biggest US grid operator to declare a level 2 alert that’s one notch shy of forced power outages.

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PJM Interconnection LLC’s Dominion region, which includes North Virginia’s data-center alley, saw real-time electricity prices exceed $2,500 per megawatt-hour as temperatures climbed Thursday. 

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New York’s Central Park reached 100F (38C) just before 2 p.m. local time, according to preliminary data. If confirmed, it would tie a 60-year-old record. 

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Consolidated Edison Inc. temporarily cut power to some customers in the Riverdale neighborhood in the Bronx and asked over 200,000 homes and businesses across a broader area, including northern Queens and Staten Island, to curb electricity use while the company deals with equipment repairs.  

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ConEd also reduced voltage on the system, a safety measure that could dim lights and cause air conditioners or other appliances to trip. The heat wave has also snarled rail service up and down the eastern seaboard and prompted city and state leaders to urge residents to conserve power.

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In New England, some power plants took the unusual step of burning oil-derived fuels, a practice rarely seen in the US. Roughly 9% of the region’s electricity was being sourced from oil, though the grid operator’s website didn’t specify whether that means crude, residual fuel oil or another refined product.

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About 152 million people from Kansas to Maine were under extreme heat warnings and more than 150 temperature records may be threatened, tied or broken in the eastern half of the US on Friday, according to the Weather Prediction Center. Through the Fourth of July US holiday weekend, roughly 300 daily records for high temperatures or warm overnight lows are likely to be challenged.

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In PJM’s 13-state region, power demand climbed above 162 gigawatts as of 6 p.m. New York time, just shy of the record 165.6 set in 2006.

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The grid operator issued a slew of warnings and alerts after 5 p.m. Thursday calling on transmission operators and power plants to deploy all available resources to cope with demand.

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Data centers in the PJM region were on notice to stop tapping the grid and instead use on-site diesel generators, natural gas units or batteries. They could also curtail usage by moving some operations to other regions. During a severe January storm, Google shifted work from a Virginia data center to the Midwest to reduce grid stress.

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Power supplies also faced strains from power plant outages. In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, LS Power’s 810-megawatt combined cycle gas plant — one of the most efficient technologies for burning the fossil fuel — tripped offline Thursday after a transformer fire.

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‘Exceptionally Tight’

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PJM also asked consumers enrolled in programs that pay businesses and households to curb usage to conserve power.

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New England’s six-state grid warned of “exceptionally tight operating conditions” on Thursday evening because of scant spare generating capacity, according to operator ISO New England Inc. Day-ahead power prices there were contracted at almost $1,000 per megawatt-hour.