Article By Frank Bergman
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has issued an emergency order as a major U.S. power grid faces conditions that could force electricity cuts across a network spanning parts of 13 states and Washington, D.C.
Unusually warm weather is driving up demand while power plants and transmission lines are offline for seasonal maintenance, putting pressure on the system’s ability to deliver electricity.
The Department of Energy warned that without emergency intervention, PJM Interconnection could have to reduce or cut service to keep its regional grid balanced.
Wright’s October 12 directive gives the operator temporary emergency powers from October 13 through October 16 to bring designated generation units into operation and access backup electricity resources.
Grid Operator Raises Emergency Alerts
PJM issued a Maximum Generation Alert and a Load Management Alert for October 13 as forecast electricity demand reached approximately 111,500 megawatts or higher.
The operator cited “unseasonably warm autumn weather” as a factor behind the surge.
The pressure comes during a maintenance window running from mid-September through early December, when utilities take generating units and power lines offline for repairs and upgrades ahead of winter.
Scheduled transmission outages have also limited how much electricity can move between different zones of the grid.
Together, those conditions threaten to leave the operator with fewer resources and less flexibility just as demand rises.
The affected network covers all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, along with Washington, D.C.
Emergency Powers Reach Into Data Center Backup Supplies
The federal order allows PJM to direct designated plants to generate electricity as needed to protect the system.
It also opens the door to using backup power at data centers and major commercial and industrial facilities.
The Department of Energy order states:
“It is our understanding that PJM seeks to unlock and deploy backup generation resources (whether auxiliary, standby, directly-connected, battery storage, or other, and whether synchronized or not to the bulk-power system) at data centers (including, but not limited to, hyperscaler facilities) and at other large load industrial and commercial customer sites as another tool to mitigate any undue risk to the bulk-power system.”
That could bring standby generators, auxiliary supplies, and battery storage into the emergency response.
BREAKING 🚨 The Federal Government just declared a POWER GRID EMERGENCY across 13 states + D.C… Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia… and Washington D.C. The Department of Energy just issued an emergency order to PJM, the grid that powers 65 MILLION people… running Oct 13 through Oct 16. Continued HOT temperatures are straining the grid… so power plants are now allowed to run PAST their pollution limits just to keep the lights on… And as a LAST RESORT before rolling blackouts… PJM can force data centers and other big power users off the grid and onto their backup generators. The grid could have as little as ~900 MW of cushion left… This is NOT normal.
— Patrick Humphrey (@PatrickHumphre) October 13, 2026
Power Cuts Remain Part of Emergency Planning
PJM’s initial alert does not impose mandatory restrictions on household electricity use.
The order is intended to prevent outages, and officials have not announced scheduled blackouts.
But if conditions tighten, residents and businesses could face appeals to reduce nonessential consumption during peak hours.
PJM can also activate demand-response measures to ease pressure on the network.
The federal reliability standard governing emergency operations requires plans for voluntary electricity reductions and operator-controlled load shedding, deliberately cutting demand to protect grid stability.
It also requires operators to account for extreme weather.
The immediate test is whether additional generation and backup supplies can keep electricity flowing through the strained network.
Wright’s emergency authority remains in place through October 16.
Be the first to comment