By Tim McLaughlin BOSTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - U.S. electric grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts as frigid weather hitting half of the country's population stressed their operations.

The electric grid operator is "no longer requesting electricity conservation" from CenterPoint customers, the utility announced Sunday morning.

ERCOT says the Texas grid will easily meet expected demand during this weekend's powerful cold snap. CPS and Austin Energy say they're ready, too.

By Tim McLaughlin BOSTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - U.S. electric grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid power shortfalls and rotating blackouts as frigid weather affecting nearly half the country's population ramped up stress on their operations.

PJM Interconnection, the operator of the electric grid network that encompasses several Midwestern states, including Ohio, is warning power companies to bring in extra staff and defer maintenance if needed in coming days.

Gov. Wes Moore joined 12 governors and two Trump administration officials pushing for power grid operator PJM Interconnection to bring $15 billion worth of new power online — with data centers paying the tab.

Grid reliability, operational efficiency and regulatory compliance are at the top of every electric utility’s priority list. Aligning every planning and operations silo across the organization to achieve those goals, however, is a daunting task.

The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of governors on Friday tried to step up pressure on the operator of the nation's largest electric grid to take urgent steps to boost power supplies and keep electricity bills from rising even higher.

When we sweat through these lingering heatwaves, we shouldn’t also have to sweat about our wallets. There’s a clear reason for this price spike: our aging electric grid is struggling to keep up with today’s needs — let alone tomorrow’s demands.

The electric grid can handle a certain amount of damage, but climate change is increasing extreme weather events in the state. Can utilities keep it running under extreme conditions without raising consumer costs?

The plan outlines the company’s proposed investments in the electric grid for 2028 through 2031 and is intended to support reliability, affordability and adaptation to