Power grids on high alert as Arctic freeze coming for half the country [View all]
Source: The Independent
Saturday 17 January 2026 15:08 EST
Grid operators overseeing power in 28 states are on high alert to shore up fuel supplies and brace for a spike in power demand as the Northeast and Midwest face an Arctic freeze this holiday weekend. The frigid outbreak, the first of several expected through early February, is forecast to bring temperatures 15F to 30F below normal, with repeated waves of Arctic air pushing deep into the central and eastern U.S.
Grid operators, PJM Interconnection LLC and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, issued alerts Friday urging utilities and power generation owners to prepare ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, when the cold is expected to intensify.
The Northeast is forecast to feel some of the harshest cold early next week, with temperatures dropping to near single digits in the Boston area and the mid‑teens in New York. Strong wind chills could make conditions feel even colder.
PJM manages the largest electricity grid in the country across 13 states and Washington, D.C., while MISO manages 15 states, covering a large region from Louisiana up into the Canadian province of Manitoba. In all, the grid operators cover about one‑third of the U.S. population.
Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/weather/weather-northeast-midwest-freeze-power-warnings-b2902518.html
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