The Department of Energy is allowing two of the nation’s biggest power suppliers to skirt normal air pollution limits to meet electricity demand in the wake of a punishing winter storm.
Snow, freezing rain and low temperatures knocked out power to more than a million homes and businesses in recent days. Local and federal officials have been working to keep the grid stable.
In tandem emergency orders announced late Monday, DOE said in a news release that it had authorized Duke Energy and PJM Interconnection to tap backup generating sources at data centers and other facilities for the next few days “to mitigate blackouts in the Mid-Atlantic and Carolinas following Winter Storm Fern.”
North Carolina-based Duke ranks among the United States’ largest energy holding companies, with 8.6 million electric utility customers in six states. PJM is its biggest grid operator, covering 13 states from Chicago to northern Virginia.
