UPDATE: PJM Interconnection’s power conservation request has been lifted as of 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
(WBRE/WYOU) — PJM Interconnection, mid-Atlantic power grid operators, issued a request for energy conservation in Pennsylvania and 12 other states as well as the District of Columbia from Saturday into Sunday. That conservation request has since been lifted
According to PJM, the continued extreme cold weather is expected to increase electricity demand across PA and the rest of the mid-Atlantic region.
Between 4 a.m. December 24 and 10 a.m. December 25, PJM requests consumers take the following steps to conserve energy:
- Setting thermostats lower than usual.
- Postponing use of major electric appliances such as stoves, dishwashers, and clothes dryers until other times.
- Turning off non-essential electric lights, equipment, and appliances.
PJM also requested consumers follow these additional steps if possible:
- Keep doors and windows closed as much as possible, including garage doors.
- Close doors to unused rooms and turn down the heat in those spaces.
- Ensure air vents are not blocked in spaces you are using, to help the flow of heat.
- Close curtains, drapes, and blinds at night to help keep the heat in.
The request comes as temperatures are expected to be in single digits Saturday night with wind chills in the negative teens.
PJM is communicating about the situation with state government officials throughout the region, and PJM and the PUC will continue to inform the public about the situation.
We will have more on this story in later editions of Eyewitness News.
