The Trump administration has issued an emergency order designed to reduce the risk of blackouts across 13 states as unusually warm October weather puts added pressure on the electrical grid serving more than 60 million people.
The Department of Energy authorized PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, to draw on additional power-generation resources as electricity demand rises while power plants and transmission facilities undergo scheduled maintenance.
Issued Monday under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, the order takes effect Tuesday and remains in place through Friday, Oct. 16. It permits certain generating facilities to operate outside their usual restrictions when necessary to preserve electricity supplies.
Power lines (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
PJM serves all or portions of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, along with Washington, D.C.
PJM Interconnection told News Media that it does not expect the emergency conditions to affect customers’ day-to-day service. However, the operator said increasing electricity demand and increasingly unpredictable weather are creating fresh challenges for grid reliability.
Jeff Shields, a PJM spokesperson, said electricity demand is expanding faster than new generating capacity can be brought online. At the same time, changing weather patterns are reducing the windows available for essential maintenance and construction.
Shields said scheduled maintenance, which grid operators once viewed as mainly a summer and winter concern, is now creating reliability risks during other parts of the year as well.
President Donald Trump holds up an executive order on American energy production after signing it during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House April 8, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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“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,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.
The emergency measure comes as temperatures in parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic are forecast to reach the 70s and 80s. The warmer conditions are expected to lift electricity demand while some generating units and transmission lines remain offline for planned maintenance.
Wright also faulted energy policies enacted under former President Joe Biden, contending that limits on conventional energy production have undermined grid reliability.
Data centers depend on transmission lines and substations capable of delivering enormous amounts of power reliably, often requiring costly grid upgrades. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
The PJM order comes as the Energy Department separately pursues investments intended to reinforce the nation’s electrical infrastructure.
The DOE recently announced plans to support 84 Tennessee Valley Authority transmission and distribution projects spanning eight states, with planned investments totaling about $581 million.
The projects include $250 million in federal funding and are expected to add approximately 2.5 gigawatts of grid capacity, improve reliability for 2.58 million families and businesses and support roughly 800 jobs.
The TVA initiative is separate from the PJM emergency order. Its final funding and regulatory approvals are still pending.
Representatives of the Department of Energy and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation did not immediately respond to News Media’s requests for comment.