Breaking: Energy Secretary Declares Grid Emergency for 13 States

Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued a federal power grid emergency order on Sunday, October 12, 2026. This directive authorized the Department of Energy to grant PJM Interconnection temporary emergency authority to maintain regional stability. The order covered a specific geographic area comprising 13 states and the District of Columbia. It remained in effect from Monday, October 13, through Thursday, October 16, 2026. The authority was exercised under section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act. The primary goal was to prevent interruptions in service rather than to announce scheduled blackouts. No mandatory conservation orders were issued during this period. Daily electricity use for households stayed normal, and no action was required from residential consumers.

The emergency order gave PJM specific powers over generation and large electricity users. PJM was allowed to call on generators to run in excess of their operating permits as needed. The authority also extended to data centers and other large electricity users. PJM could direct these entities onto their backup generation if necessary. The Department of Energy stated that PJM wanted to deploy auxiliary, standby, directly connected, or battery storage resources. These resources were located at data centers, including hyperscaler facilities, and other large industrial and commercial customer sites. In limited circumstances, PJM was authorized to use backup power reserves to stabilize the system.

The geographic scope of the order included Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, and New Jersey. It also covered North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The District of Columbia was included in the coverage area. PJM coordinates wholesale electricity across all or parts of these jurisdictions. The region serves about 67 million people. The order was designed to address a specific strain on the grid that emerged during the fall shoulder season. This period occurs when generator and transmission owners take equipment offline for maintenance and upgrades ahead of winter.

Unusually warm October weather collided with the typical maintenance schedule for the grid. Most scheduled outages are prohibited in summer, so the summer peak period ended in mid-September. On Friday, October 9, PJM issued a Capacity Advisory for the following two days. This was the first ever use of that procedure, which PJM members endorsed in June 2026. The procedure applies when projected conditions indicate an approaching capacity shortfall. PJM's load forecast was about 102,000 megawatts of peak demand on Monday, October 12. The forecast for Tuesday, October 13, was about 104,000 megawatts. These figures were set against previously scheduled generation outages of about 70,000 megawatts plus planned transmission outages.

Paul Dajewski, PJM's senior manager for dispatch, told stakeholders that this volume of outages is typical for the shoulder season. On Monday, October 12, PJM issued a Maximum Generation Alert and a Load Management Alert for the following day. It extended the Capacity Advisory through October 14 and issued a Maintenance Outage Recall for that date. These actions followed a forecast of approximately 111,500 megawatts of demand or higher. On October 13, PJM extended the Maximum Generation Alert and Load Management Alert through October 14. It also called on Demand Response programs, which pay customers who sign up in advance to cut electricity use when the grid is stressed. PJM said the alerts required no action from customers.

A Maximum Generation Alert tells transmission and generation owners that conditions will be tight. It allows them to defer or cancel equipment maintenance and testing. It also informs neighboring grid operators that exports from PJM may be curtailed. Scheduled transmission line outages limited how much electricity could move between zones. Generation was bottled in some areas because of transmission limits. This was particularly true for resources serving congested zones in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. These areas include the BGE, Pepco, and Dominion zones. On Friday, October 16, PJM issued another Capacity Advisory for Monday, October 19.

The load forecast for that later date was about 94,573 megawatts. This was set against expected generation outages of about 72,000 megawatts plus planned transmission outages. PJM had previously used Department of Energy emergency orders during two unseasonably warm September periods. Those periods were August 31 to September 4 and September 15 to 18. The orders allowed eligible resources to keep operating beyond normal limits. PJM deployed Demand Response both times. After sunset on those days, PJM had to cover net load as solar output fell faster than electricity use.

PJM notes that the shoulder-season reprieve is not what it used to be. Most of the new, rapidly growing demand comes from data centers and other energy-intensive large-load customers. Their consumption does not fall with the weather, making it a 12-month, 24/7 phenomenon. That expanding demand is outpacing new transmission and electricity supply coming onto the system. Unseasonably hot or cold weather now arrives outside the traditional peak seasons. PJM expects sufficient resources to reliably meet demand this winter under expected conditions. However, reserve margins continue to tighten as demand outpaces new supply.

PJM expects 182,426 megawatts of operational capacity to serve a forecast winter peak of approximately 147,500 megawatts. This forecast includes about 3,200 megawatts of average exports to neighboring systems. That peak, driven by demand growth, would set a new winter record if reached. Reliable winter operations depend on strong generator performance during extreme cold. This is especially true where transmission constraints limit deliveries in the BGE, Pepco, and Dominion zones. Michael Bryson, PJM's senior vice president of operations, said the goal is to coordinate operations with generation and transmission owners. He stated the aim is to proactively manage the system to perform at high levels when consumers need energy the most.