Energy Department Gives PJM Emergency Powers Through Oct. 16 as Maintenance Outages Squeeze Mid-Atlantic Grid

Since PJM suspended its 6.8 GW backstop auction after FERC ordered a rewrite, the grid operator has taken a second federal intervention. On Oct. 12, Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued an emergency order under section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act covering PJM, effective today, Oct. 13, through Oct. 16.

PJM asked for it. The grid operator submitted its application on Oct. 11, according to the Energy Department.

What the order allows

The order directs PJM to dispatch specified generating units and to order them to run as needed to maintain reliability. It also lets PJM direct backup generation to operate as a last resort before declaring an Energy Emergency Alert Level 3, or during one. PJM may call on its transmission owners and electric distribution companies to carry it out.

The backup provision reaches standby generators and battery storage at large commercial and industrial sites, including data centers. Hospitals, first responders, 911 centers, water and wastewater plants, defense facilities, air traffic control and natural gas infrastructure are excluded.

Plants that run into environmental limits may exceed them only as far as PJM decides reliability requires. PJM must report daily which resources ran under the order. Normal environmental rules resume when it expires.

The order does not announce blackouts. It is meant to reduce the chance that PJM has to cut or interrupt service. PJM issued a Maximum Generation Alert and a Load Management Alert for today and said customers need not take any action.

A supply squeeze, not a demand spike

PJM forecast demand of about 111,500 megawatts or higher for today. That is far below the more than 166,000 MW it projected during the July heat. Unseasonably warm autumn weather is pushing demand above what is normal for mid-October.

The larger problem is how much equipment is offline. From mid-September through early December, PJM runs its seasonal outage window, when plants and lines come down for maintenance ahead of winter. In its filing, PJM forecast roughly 61,591 MW of generation unavailable. It said conditions could bring the system within 900 MW of its required reserve margin on Oct. 14.

Planned transmission outages compound that. They limit how much power can move between parts of the region, including links to the neighboring Midcontinent grid, and PJM also cited firm export obligations. Pressure is expected to be sharpest in the BGE, PEPCO and Dominion zones, which cover much of Maryland, Virginia and the Washington area.

If those constraints could not be managed, PJM said it might have to reduce or interrupt electricity service.

PJM coordinates wholesale power across all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia. It serves more than 65 million people.

A recurring tool

This appears to be at least the fifth emergency order DOE has sent PJM this year. Earlier orders came in January, mid-May, early July and early September, each tied to a weather extreme. This one is tied to maintenance season and mild-for-summer, warm-for-fall temperatures.

Wright framed the order as a blackout-prevention measure and tied it to energy policy. "This order will help ensure millions of American families and businesses across the mid-Atlantic have access to affordable, reliable, and secure electricity by making additional power generation, including backup power, available to use as needed," he said. He added that "past leaders' energy subtraction policies have made the grid more vulnerable to the risk of blackouts when the sun doesn't shine or the wind doesn't blow." DOE estimates more than 35 GW of unused backup generation remains available nationwide.

The wider strain on PJM

PJM has been under pressure for months. It missed its power supply reliability target in July 2026 as AI data center demand pushed capacity costs up more than tenfold, according to StartupFortune's account. That account also says federal officials are debating whether to break the operator apart.

A separate federal action may complicate the fix. On Aug. 26, President Trump signed Executive Order 14420, declaring a national emergency over foreign-made equipment in the bulk-power system. It gives DOE authority to block transactions involving equipment from countries deemed security threats, including gear already installed. BloombergNEF told Utility Dive that a meaningful share of more than 23 GW of U.S. storage projects that have reached financial close or are under construction faces delay or cancellation while developers wait for DOE to say which suppliers are barred. Batteries and inverters are the equipment utilities are installing to meet rising load. The order itself does not name China, though China dominates manufacturing of those components.

The near-term test is Oct. 14, when PJM's own forecast puts reserves within 900 MW of the minimum. The order lapses Oct. 16, and DOE has not said whether it will be extended.