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On May 17, 2026, PJM filed a request for emergency order under Federal Power Act, Section 202(c) with Department of Energy (DOE) requesting that the agency issues an order under section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act authorizing PJM to direct transmission owners and electric utilities in its footprint to curtail facilities as needed for three days starting May 18 because of hot weather combined with planned power plant maintenance outages.

“PJM has recalled generator and transmission outages to the extent possible and has a generator maintenance outage recall in place in an effort to bring units into operational status to address potential capacity emergencies. However, “notwithstanding these efforts, PJM projects having less than 5,800 MW of reserves during the May 18, 2026 peak.”

In response to this emergency request, on May 18, 2026 the DOE issued an emergency order giving PJM permission to curtail data centers and other large loads that have backup generation.

The DOE notes in its order that curtailments would be a last resort before ordering rolling blackouts, , issued under the Federal Power Act’s section 202(c). Only large energy consumers with backup generation would be affected.

“The employment of this backup generation is expected to reduce stress on the grid,” the DOE said. “This will permit orderly, safe, and secure operations during PJM’s hot weather conditions.”

Excerpts from the DOE Emergency Order:

A. From May 18, 2026, PJM is authorized to direct backup generation resources at data centers (including, but not limited to, hyperscaler facilities), and at other large load industrial and commercial customer sites (whether auxiliary, standby, directly-connected, battery storage or other, and whether synchronized or not to the bulk power system), to operate as a last resort before declaring an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) 3 (i.e., before firm load interruption) or during an EEA 3.29 PJM is authorized to call upon its Transmission Owners and Electric Distribution Companies to implement this order as needed.

B. This Order requires the operation of the backup generation resources described in paragraph A. Following the conclusion of the EEA conditions described in paragraph A, sufficient time for orderly ramp down is permitted, consistent with industry practices.

C. This order is not applicable to any backup generation resource serving a critical reliability or backup need, including those at defense, homeland security, first responder, air traffic control, hospital facilities, 911 call centers, water treatment or wastewater facilities, natural gas pipeline facilities, natural gas gathering facilities, or other similar facilities.

D. To minimize adverse environmental impacts, this Order limits operation of deployed units to the times and within the parameters as determined by PJM pursuant to paragraphs A-C.

E. All operations of backup generation resources authorized under this order must otherwise comply with ancillary environmental requirements, including, but not limited to, monitoring, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements, to the maximum extent feasible while operating consistent with the emergency conditions.

F. PJM shall provide notification to the Department (via AskCR@hq.doe.gov) within one day following the date any backup generation resources have been directed to operate pursuant to this Order. The reporting shall include a list of all backup generation resources directed to operate pursuant to this Order. PJM shall provide such additional information regarding the environmental and other impacts of this Order and their compliance with the conditions of this Order, as requested by the Department of Energy from time to time.

G. Each party affected by this order is directed to file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission any tariff, tariff revisions or waivers necessary to effectuate this Order, as applicable. Rate recovery is available pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 824a(c).

H.This Order shall not preclude the need for the backup generation resources subject to this Order to comply with applicable state, local, or Federal law or regulations following the expiration of this Order.

I. Because this Order is predicated on the shortage of facilities for generation of electric energy and other causes, any backup generation resource subject to this Order shall not be considered a capacity resource.

J. This Order shall be effective upon its issuance and shall expire at 11:59 PM EST on May 20, 2026, with the exception of the above reporting requirements and compliance obligations, as applicable. Renewal of this Order, should it be needed, must be requested before this Order expires.