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PJM Interconnection, the electric grid operator for the U.S. Mid-Atlantic, said Wednesday that it expects peak electricity usage in the summer of 2009 to be 1.4% lower than last year's peak as power demand declines during the recession.

"With additional resources available this year and a slower economy, power supplies should be adequate to meet consumers' demands," said Michael J. Kormos, PJM's senior vice president of operations, in a prepared statement.

Projected peak usage in PJM for 2009 is 134,430 megawatts, down from 136,310 megawatts in 2008. A megawatt powers about 800 to 1,000 homes in PJM, which includes all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

PJM forecasts the summer peak usage will grow 1.7% annually as the economy recovers. The grid operator has 165,200 megawatts of power resources to meet electricity demand.

PJM's all-time record use of peak-demand electricity was 144,644 megawatts in 2006.

-By Christine Buurma, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2061; christine.buurma@dowjones.com