Largest US power grid faces level 1 emergency as Biden's decarbonization policies take effect

On Thursday, the largest US power grid operator PJM Interconnection LLC issued a level-one emergency over concerns they would not be able to maintain adequate power reserves as customers deal with scorching temperatures. 

According to Bloomberg, PJM issued a call for all power plants to operate at full capacity to deal with the increased use of air conditioners as much of the country went under a heat advisory. 

Roughly 170 million people or 60 percent of the US are under extreme heat advisories or flood warnings. Lead forecaster for the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center, Bob Oravec noted that the record-breaking temperatures are hitting "all the big cities." 

He added that New England is bracing for extreme heat and flash floods. "You could have really bad heat for a good part of the day and then get a strong thunderstorm that produces heavy rains and then can produce flooding," he said.

PJM's website states that they provided wholesale electricity to over 65 million people across Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. 

This comes as Federal regulators approved new rules to speed up the process of connecting renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, to the electrical grid, the New York Times reports. It notes that the energy companies have invested billions in renewable energy due to federal incentives but they take a long time to get approval to connect to the power grid. 

Earlier this year the Biden administration passed the $739 billion Inflation Reduction Act in an effort to drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels and increase the use of renewable energy to combat climate change. 

Red states across the country have passed preemptive laws to prevent cities from banning the use of natural gas in residential homes. 

The California Independent System operator also issued an emergency notice on Tuesday as residents deal with the summer heat.