US declares power grid emergency across 13 states: What it means for residents

US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has issued an emergency order authorising PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission operator serving much of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions, to run designated power generation units as needed to protect grid stability. The federal directive, issued on October 12, grants PJM temporary emergency authority running from October 13 through October 16. Under the order, the grid operator can mandate certain power plants to generate electricity and, in limited circumstances, tap into backup power reserves to maintain a steady flow of energy across its multistate network, as per the order available on the department’s official website. Federal officials and grid managers clarified that the order is designed specifically to prevent power interruptions and not to announce scheduled blackouts.

Why the emergency order has been issued

Headquartered in the Philadelphia area, PJM Interconnection coordinates wholesale electricity movement across all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia.

“PJM serves as the Reliability Coordinator and Balancing Authority for its region and is, therefore, responsible for overseeing the dispatch of generation to meet system demand at all times within the limits of the transmission system. The PJM Region 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,” the order says.


The emergency order comes amid concerns over rising electricity demand and constraints on the regional power grid. Ahead of the anticipated strain, the operator issued a Maximum Generation Alert and a Load Management Alert for October 13, citing a combination of unseasonably warm weather and scheduled infrastructure maintenance.

Electricity demand is forecast to reach approximately 111,500 megawatts or higher on October 13, driven by ‘unseasonably warm autumn weather’.

Another factor is the ongoing seasonal maintenance cycle, which typically runs from mid-September through early December. During this period, utilities take generation units and transmission lines offline for maintenance and upgrades to prepare for peak demand during the winter months.

However, scheduled transmission line outages have restricted the amount of electricity that can be transferred between different zones across the PJM system, adding to concerns over supply and grid reliability.

According to the Department of Energy (DOE), without emergency federal intervention, PJM could have faced conditions requiring it to reduce or cut electricity supplies to maintain regional grid stability.

The order also points to backup generation at data centres and other large electricity-consuming facilities as a potential way to ease pressure on the grid.

"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," the order noted.

What it means for residents in impacted US states

PJM has emphasised that the initial alert does not require immediate mandatory action from household consumers. Electricity use can continue as normal, with the emergency declaration primarily intended to coordinate power generation and maintain grid stability.

However, the operator has issued capacity advisories and retains the option to activate demand-response measures if conditions deteriorate. Residents and businesses across the 13-state region could be asked to voluntarily reduce non-essential electricity consumption during peak demand periods.

The emergency procedures are consistent with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Reliability Standard EOP-011-4, which sets out requirements for emergency operations and responses to electricity supply shortfalls.

Requirement 2 of the standard states that “[e]ach Balancing Authority shall develop, maintain, and implement one or more Reliability Coordinator-reviewed Operating Plan(s) to mitigate Capacity Emergencies and Energy Emergencies within its Balancing Authority Area.”

Balancing Authorities are responsible for requesting that their respective Reliability Coordinators issue an EEA in accordance with Requirement 2 and Attachment 1 to Reliability Standard EOP-011-4. Among other provisions, Requirement 2.2.4 authorizes Balancing Authorities to make “[p]ublic appeals for voluntary Load reductions.”

Section 2.2.9 also requires Balancing Authority operating plans to include provisions for “Transmission Operators to implement operator-controlled manual Load shedding, undervoltage Load shedding, or underfrequency Load shedding.” Section 2.2.10 requires these plans to assess the reliability impacts of “extreme weather conditions.”

These provisions establish procedures for managing electricity emergencies, including capacity shortages, extreme weather and the possibility of controlled power cuts if other measures prove insufficient.