A massive heat dome swept across the eastern U.S. last week, driving temperatures into the triple digits and pushing the PJM Interconnection grid to its highest peak load since 2006 (Figure 1). PJM, the nation’s largest regional transmission organization, issued maximum generation and hot weather alerts for June 22-25, forecasting peak loads of 160,526 MW — well above its summer projection of 154,000 MW and nearing the 2006 all-time high of 165,563 MW.
The heat dome, characterized by intense heat and high humidity, spiked electricity demand as air conditioners ran at full capacity. To maintain reliability, PJM urged transmission and generation owners to defer scheduled maintenance and keep critical infrastructure online during this high-stress period.
The heat dome’s impact draws parallels to Texas’ 2023 heat wave, where renewables and storage met up to 80% of ERCOT’s peak load. PJM’s interconnection queue remains backed up with projects consistently delayed or suspended. Nationally, more than $14 billion in clean energy projects have been canceled this year amid policy and economic uncertainty.
As extreme weather events become more frequent, and incremental load growth remains a central part of the conversation, PJM and other grid operators face a growing risk to grid reliability.
- The One, Big, Beautiful Bill – Plug Pulled, Costs Rise – This report assesses the potential impacts of rolling back Inflation Reduction Act credits on the economics of solar, onshore wind, storage and power purchase agreements.
- EVOLVE 2025 – Beyond the Curve: Transparent Insights Into the Future of Power Prices – This presentation to the Enverus EVOLVE 2025 Conference in Houston features work to provide a clear picture of future power market supply and demand dynamics. We showcase the innovative workflow developed by Enverus Intelligence® Research, highlighting a highly transparent and detailed long-term power market forecast. Our models consider a wide range of factors, including load growth driven by artificial intelligence, transport electrification, reshoring of manufacturing and an increasingly renewable-dominated generation mix.
- EVOLVE 2025 – Data Center Capacity Expansion: Pushing Capex to the Limit – The rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure is increasing load for the first time in decades, causing a land acquisition frenzy. Rapid advancements in hardware and software mean that delaying capacity additions can compound tech innovation. This presentation to the Enverus Evolve 2025 conference examines anticipated load growth from AI, the impact of chip efficiency on forecasts and data center project development.
Enverus Intelligence® | Research, Inc. (EIR) is a subsidiary of Enverus that publishes energy-sector research focused on the oil, natural gas, power and renewable industries. EIR publishes reports including asset and company valuations, resource assessments, technical evaluations and macro-economic forecasts, and helps make intelligent connections for energy industry participants, service companies and capital providers worldwide. See additional disclosures here.
