HARRISBURG (AP) – The U.S. Department of Energy is ordering an oil and gas power plant in PA to keep its turbines running through the hottest summer months as a precaution against electricity shortfalls in the mid-Atlantic grid. The department cited concerns about power shortfalls amid the shutdown of aging power plants and rising electricity demand. PJM has projected significant growth in electricity use to power America’s fast-rising demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing platforms. The plant near Philadelphia operated by Constellation was supposed to close Saturday. Constellation also said it is trying to accelerate its restart of Three Mile Island’s Unit 1 to bring it online in 2027, instead of in 2028, as part of a deal to supply data centers run by Microsoft.
