Power demand on the United States' largest electrical grid surged to a potential record high on Thursday, driven by temperatures soaring above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) across much of the Mid-Atlantic region. This underscores the mounting strain on a system already grappling with the demands of a booming data center industry.

PJM Interconnection LLC, which serves 67 million people across 13 states, indicated on Friday that electricity consumption likely surpassed the previous record of 165.563 gigawatts set in August 2006. Official preliminary peak data will be released in 60 days, allowing time to account for the actual performance of its 6 gigawatts of demand-response resources.

In an operational update to its members and stakeholders, PJM reported that preliminary data showed its instantaneous peak load between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on July 2 reached approximately 162.7 gigawatts. The company noted this figure was suppressed by energy conservation measures.

"The peak load may have already exceeded PJM's all-time record," the grid operator stated.

This event serves as another indicator that the U.S. power grid, which supports everything from residential air conditioning to hospital lighting, has entered a new era amid a surge in artificial intelligence infrastructure development. After two decades of stagnant demand, electricity consumption growth in the world's largest economy is now outpacing the expansion of its power generation capacity.

The PJM grid encompasses the "data center alley" of Northern Virginia. In May, the company had forecast a summer peak demand of 156 gigawatts, describing a scenario where demand would reach record levels as "unlikely but not impossible."

PJM possesses roughly 180 gigawatts of conventional generation capacity. Additionally, customers representing several gigawatts of collective load have agreements to reduce their electricity usage during demand spikes in exchange for bill credits or temporary rate reductions. One gigawatt is roughly equivalent to the output capacity of a traditional nuclear reactor.