Columbus, OH—Ohio is only one of several states in the eastern United States that is considered at low risk for electricity reliability issues this summer, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation's (NERC) 2023 Summer Reliability Assessment.
Ohio is part of PJM, the organization that manages the electric grid for Ohio and other surrounding states. Even though the assessment recognizes Ohio is expecting above average temperatures this summer, reliability risk remains low due to sufficient reserve capacity.
But Ohio is in the minority. Most of the country is at elevated risk of reliability issues, particularly on the hottest days this summer. The central and western part of the United States could see forced outages or rolling blackouts this summer.
According to NERC's assessment, it expects the states within PJM's territory to have no resource challenges even on peak days. However, consumers are always asked to conserve energy on the hottest days, during times of highest demand for electricity, to prevent possible forced outages.
