DOE Issues Emergency Order for Mid-Atlantic Grid: PJM Directed to Dispatch Units, May Tap Backup Power Across 13 States and D.C.
The U.S. Department of Energy on Oct. 12 issued an emergency order (Order No. 202-26-50) directing grid operator PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. to dispatch specified generating units and to order their operation as needed to maintain grid reliability. The order also authorizes PJM, as a last resort before declaring an Energy Emergency Alert 3 (EEA 3) or during an EEA 3, to direct backup generation resources to operate. The order is effective Oct. 13 through Oct. 16, 2026.
The order was issued under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, following an application PJM submitted on Oct. 11. PJM forecast that demand across its territory would reach about 111,500 MW or higher on Oct. 13, while roughly 61,591 MW of generation was expected to be unavailable because of planned autumn maintenance and other outages, and planned transmission outages were set to limit north-to-south and west-to-east power transfers. PJM expected the system to come within about 900 MW of its reserve margin on Oct. 14. DOE estimates that more than 35,000 MW (35 GW) of unused backup generation remains available nationwide; the backup resources covered by the order include generators and batteries at data centers and other large commercial and industrial facilities.
Autumn is the traditional season for scheduled generator maintenance, and unusually warm fall weather this year has lifted demand at the same time, squeezing reserve margins. PJM issued a Maximum Generation Alert and a Load Management Alert for Oct. 13 and said the alerts require no action from customers. The tightest conditions were expected in the service territories of Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), Pepco and Dominion Energy, covering much of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. DOE stressed that the order is a preventive measure intended to reduce blackout risk, not a warning that blackouts are expected; the order does not mean backup generation has already been dispatched or that any customer outages have occurred.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the order makes additional generation, including backup power, available as needed for millions of families and businesses across the Mid-Atlantic, adding that the administration "remains committed to using every available tool to prevent blackouts."
PJM is the largest regional grid operator in the United States, coordinating wholesale power supplies and transmission across all or parts of 13 states — Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia — plus the District of Columbia, serving about 65 million people. Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act authorizes the Secretary of Energy to order the temporary connection and operation of generating and transmission facilities upon finding a sudden emergency shortage of electricity. Wright issued two similar orders for the same region during a summer heat wave in June.
(Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Order No. 202-26-50 and)
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Order No. 202-26-50 and
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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