The massive winter storm that disrupted US energy production, sparked the most flight cancellations since Covid, and paralyzed much of the eastern half of the country for days is finally over. BofA chief economist Aditya Bhave has warned that the winter blast could deliver a meaningful hit to first-quarter GDP. However, the eastern half of the US is not in the clear yet. At least another week of brutally cold weather is forecast, which could keep pushing power grids to the brink.

As heating demand surged to record levels, fossil fuel power generation proved critical in preventing widespread rolling blackouts. James Bevan of Criterion Research made that clear in an exclusive note for ZeroHedge:

"Sleep Tight, America. We Got This": NatGas And Coal Power Plants Prevented Grid Collapse During Historic Winter Blast

To further stabilize the power grid this week, Energy Secretary Chris Wright instructed PJM Interconnection on Monday to divert power intended for data centers and other energy-intensive facilities to residential customers and hospitals. Those data centers and facilities were able to switch on their on-site diesel and natural gas generators, reducing power demand during peak hours.

Bloomberg notes:

PJM, which serves more than 67 million people from Chicago to Virginia, sought federal approval to stave off the potential need to impose rolling blackouts. Wright also gave the same authorization to two units of Duke Energy Corp.

The move by Wright to divert power intended for data centers to residential customers and hospitals comes as average temperatures in Washington, DC, at the heart of the PJM grid in the energy crisis-stricken Mid-Atlantic, are in the low teens this week. The two-week forecast is not expected to rise above the 30-year average.