Trump Admin Scrambles to Protect PJM Grid as Heat, AI Demand Raise Blackout Risks for Over 60 Million Americans: Emergency Power Order Issued Across 13 States
President Donald Trump’s Energy Department issued an emergency order allowing extra power generation across the PJM Interconnection as unusual October heat, planned maintenance and rising demand raise blackout risks across a grid serving more than 67 million people.
Emergency Order Targets Near-Term Blackout Risk
Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued the order Monday under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act. It runs from Oct. 13 through Oct. 16, directing PJM to dispatch specified units and allowing backup generation as a last resort before or during an Energy Emergency Alert Level 3.
"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," Wright said.
PJM coordinates electricity across all or parts of 13 states plus Washington, D.C., and says it serves more than 67 million people.
Weather is tightening conditions during the fall maintenance season. The National Weather Service forecast record or near-record warmth across parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic, with highs in the upper 80s in central Indiana and well into the 80s around Washington and Baltimore.
PJM Faces Growing Supply-Demand Pressure
The order comes as PJM faces a wider supply-demand squeeze. PJM said in January this year that recent capacity auctions reflected "tightening supply and increasing demand outpacing new supply," while the grid works to connect large data centers without sacrificing reliability or affordability.
AI infrastructure has intensified that challenge. Federal regulators this week approved a PJM registry for data centers as electricity demand from those facilities is projected to triple to 29 gigawatts by 2030. Power availability has increasingly emerged as a major bottleneck for the AI data-center buildout, while separate projections show AI-related electricity demand could surge sharply through the next decade.
Administration Expands Broader Grid Reliability Efforts
The administration has used emergency authority before. In July, DOE issued similar PJM orders during a severe heat wave as electricity demand approached record levels and generator outages tightened supply. The earlier intervention also authorized additional generation to protect grid reliability.
Separately, the Department of Energy announced plans on Tuesday to support 84 Tennessee Valley Authority transmission and distribution projects across eight states. The roughly $581 million package, including $250 million in federal funding, is expected to add about 2.5 gigawatts of grid capacity and improve reliability for 2.58 million families and businesses.
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