Major Winter Storm Disrupts US Power Grids and Air Travel, Sparks Price Surge

A severe winter storm reached the U.S. East Coast on January 25, causing widespread power outages for nearly 933,000 customers and forcing the cancellation of over 16,000 flights from January 24 through January 26. The storm is straining electricity grids and threatening record demand. Wholesale power prices in the PJM Interconnection grid spiked to around $1,200 per megawatt-hour in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., more than double the system-wide average. The Texas grid operator, ERCOT, forecast winter-record demand approaching 84 gigawatts for January 26 morning. The U.S. Energy Department issued emergency orders for the PJM and Texas grids to ensure reliability, while major airports in New York and Washington saw cancellation rates exceed 80%.