Baltimore Gas & Electric Company Zone real-time prices spiked near$259/MWh around 11:15 am EDT Monday as Duke Energy Ohio Kentucky Zone jumpednear $298/MWh and Dayton Power & Light Zone near $227/MWh around 9:40 am EDT,according to PJM data.

PJM West Hub balance-of-the-day for Monday traded around $83.50/MWh onthe Intercontinental Exchange, nearly $20 above where the day-ahead packagefor Monday traded on Friday.

The latest hot weather alert will be in effect from 7 am EDT (1100 GMT)through 11 pm EDT Tuesday, according to a PJM alert posted Sunday. The gridoperator previously issued hot weather alerts for 5 am EDT through 10 pm EDTfor Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and from 7 am to 11 pm Monday.

PJM load was around 138,450 MW at 12:20 pm EDT Monday and is expected toreach 151,575 MW at 4 pm EDT Monday, which would be the highest level innearly two years, according to PJM.

Peakload on Tuesday was forecast to be around 149,000 MW on Tuesday.Peakload averaged 140,669 MW Friday through Sunday, according to PJM.

In comparison, PJM peakload topped out at 145,331 MW last summer, withthe all-time peakload record sitting at 165,492 MW from 2006.

Pushing up power demand, high temperatures across the PJM footprint wereforecast to be in the upper 80s to low 100s Monday and in the low to mid-90sTuesday, as much as 13 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, according toCustomWeather.

A heatwave is continuing for the eastern half of the US, withtemperatures 10-20 degrees above normal expected Monday, and the potential forrecord highs to be set across the northeastern states, according to the USNational Weather Service.

Heat advisories and some excessive heat warnings are in effect fromnortheast North Carolina to New Hampshire as high temperatures in the 90s tonear 100 F, combined with high dew points, are expected to result in heatindexes of 100 to 110 degrees for many areas.

The alerts help PJM and utility partners coordinate the flow of energyand avoid capacity problems on the grid, according to the grid operator.

Transmission and generation dispatchers are expected to review plans todetermine whether any maintenance or testing on any monitoring, control,transmission or generating equipment can be deferred or canceled.

The PJM Mid-Atlantic Region consists of the service territories of thefollowing transmission owners: Atlantic City Electric, Baltimore Gas andElectric, Delmarva Power, Jersey Central Power & Light, Metropolitan Edison,PECO, Pennsylvania Electric, Pepco, PPL Electric Utilities, Public ServiceElectric and Gas, Rockland Electric and UGI Utilities.

--Kassia Micek, kassia.micek@spglobal.com

--Edited by Keiron Greenhalgh, keiron.greenhalgh@spglobal.com