January 27, 2026 - According to the National Weather Service, the Huntington area won’t see a daytime temperature above 27 degrees all this week. Nighttime temperatures could dip below zero, and the wind chill could be minus 12.

PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for a 13-state region that includes all of West Virginia and Ohio and part of Kentucky, said electricity demand in the region could peak at 130,000 megawatts for seven straight days, “a winter streak that PJM has never experienced.” A new all-time high for peak load demand could happen on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

This past weekend, the U.S. Department of Energy issued an order allowing PJM to run all electric generating units located within the PJM region to operate up to their maximum generation output levels, notwithstanding air quality or other permit limitations or fuel shortages while the emergency lasts. The order is effective through Jan. 31.

PJM says it expects to have sufficient resources to meet the demands that are anticipated through Sunday.

As of 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 26, total demand in the PJM region was 129,559 megawatts. Natural gas generation provided about 39% of that, followed by nuclear at 26%, coal at 23% and renewables at 8%, with other sources providing the rest. Note that despite the push for renewables in a region not favorable for producing electricity from renewable sources and where nuclear production has been on a downward trend, fossil fuels provided more than half its energy needs.

Also, wind generation fell by 30% from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday, from 6,803 megawatts to 4,744.

New power generation fueled by natural gas is expected to come on line in the next few years. The advantage of a regional grid such as PJM is that power can be moved between states. Electricity generated by burning coal in West Virginia can be used to warm houses in Ohio, where coal-burning power plants have been closed and demolished in the past decade.

The retail electricity market in Ohio operates differently than it does in West Virginia. There ‘s no incentive to keep Ohio coal burners operating. Coal dominated electricity generation in this region until fracking caused natural gas production to soar, making it cost-competitive with coal. At the same, the increasing requirements for coal-burning power plants to meet new environmental regulations made smaller coal plants or those using generators with less production capacity unable to compete with gas and renewables.

Electricity demand is expected to grow in part because of data centers and in part because of all the gadgets in homes and businesses now that weren’t there 40 years ago. Luxuries do tend to become necessities.

Arctic weather comes into this region every few years. It’s something people need to plan for. This week’s deep freeze shows the need to keep some coal-generating capacity available until other sources replace it for high-demand weather events. Coal’s future may not be as bright as its past, but it will have a place for the next decade or two. 

Jim Ross is development and opinion editor of The Herald-Dispatch. His email address is jross@hdmediallc.com.