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Energy Department Declares Emergency for PJM as Heat Wave Threatens Grid

The order gives PJM authority to force some large users to run on-site backup generators to protect homes and essential services from possible blackouts.

Visitors wait in line on Independence Mall to see the Liberty Bell on Thursday, July 2, 2026.
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Makki Goodbee, a distribution security operator with National Grid, works at his station in National Grid’s Eastern Regional Control Center last year in Guilderland. (Will Waldron/Times Union)
Feds: Data centers must use generators to preserve power, prevent blackouts during heat wave demand

Overview

  • The Department of Energy issued the emergency order on Tuesday, granting PJM Interconnection power to direct data centers and other large customers to switch to on-site backup generation as a last resort.
  • PJM is forecasting peak demand of roughly 166,000 to 166,300 megawatts this week while reporting about 180.2 gigawatts of available capacity plus roughly 8 gigawatts of demand-reduction programs, leaving narrow reliability margins.
  • The order temporarily permits generators to exceed some environmental permit limits with required reporting and recordkeeping, a move officials say is needed to avoid rotating outages.
  • Wholesale prices spiked in constrained locations, at one point topping $1,600 per megawatt-hour, and operators have warned that localized rolling blackouts remain possible if conditions worsen.
  • Longer-term strains driving the emergency include rapid growth of hyperscale and AI data centers, slower replacement of retiring plants, and transmission bottlenecks that amplify local stress and pollution risks for nearby communities.