The government clears the largest US power grid to burn extra power as a heat wave bites

Federal regulators gave the operator of the nation’s largest electricity grid permission to squeeze extra output from power plants and lean on backup generation as a heat wave pushed demand toward the edge of what the system could reliably supply. The order effectively lets grid operators bend normal operating limits for a defined stretch of time rather than risk rolling blackouts across a service area that stretches from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic.

The move affected PJM Interconnection, which coordinates electricity delivery to roughly 67 million people across 13 states and the District of Columbia, making it the largest regional grid operator in the country by population served.

What the Section 202(c) order actually does

The Department of Energy’s order, issued under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, authorizes specific power plants within the PJM footprint to run beyond limits that would otherwise apply, including pollution and emissions restrictions designed for normal operating conditions. Section 202(c) is a long-standing federal tool that lets the Energy Department temporarily suspend certain regulatory limits on generators during an emergency, on the reasoning that keeping the lights on during extreme heat takes priority over routine compliance for a short, clearly bounded period. The order followed PJM’s own declaration of an Energy Emergency Alert Level 1, the mildest of PJM’s tiered alert levels, on September 1, 2026, after a combination of high demand, generator outages and contractual power exports strained the system.

Why PJM asked before hitting a higher alert level

PJM’s alert system escalates from Level 1 through Level 3 as available reserve margins shrink, with Level 3 representing the point at which the grid operator may need to order controlled, rotating outages to protect the system from a wider, uncontrolled collapse. Requesting emergency federal authorization at Level 1, before conditions worsen, gives grid operators additional tools, like running backup generators that would not otherwise be permitted to operate, without waiting for the crisis to deepen. Insurance Journal reported that the order was requested specifically to head off the need for more disruptive emergency measures later in the heat event.

A pattern seen elsewhere in the PJM footprint in 2026

This was not the first time in 2026 that federal regulators granted PJM emergency authority during extreme heat. Utility Dive reported that earlier emergency orders in the same year authorized PJM to curtail large electricity users, including data centers, during peak demand hours, as a heat dome pushed electricity demand to roughly 163 gigawatts and heat indices above 110 degrees from Washington to New York. That earlier round of orders remained in effect only through a defined window before expiring, underscoring that these federal authorizations are narrow, temporary emergency measures rather than a permanent change to how the grid is regulated.

What is driving demand higher across the PJM territory

Grid operators across the PJM region have pointed to two forces compounding each other: extreme heat that pushes air conditioning demand to seasonal peaks, and a rapid buildout of large electricity users, particularly data centers supporting artificial intelligence and cloud computing, that draw continuous, high-volume power around the clock regardless of weather. Unlike air conditioning load, which spikes and recedes with the weather, data center demand tends to stay elevated, narrowing the reserve margin PJM has available before a heat wave even begins. That combination is part of why grid planners have increasingly sought emergency authorizations earlier in a heat event rather than waiting to see whether demand recedes on its own.

The strain has also shown up in wholesale electricity markets, where prices in parts of the PJM footprint climbed sharply during the same stretch of heat, reflecting how tight the balance between supply and demand had become even before any rotating outages were considered. Higher wholesale prices during peak hours are, in effect, the market’s own signal of scarcity, and they tend to spike well before a grid operator declares a formal emergency alert. That price pressure ultimately flows through to the generators and large industrial customers that participate directly in PJM’s markets, giving them a financial incentive to reduce consumption or bring additional generation online during the hours when the system is most stressed.

What happens once the order expires

Emergency orders issued under Section 202(c) carry an expiration date built into the order itself, after which the affected generators must return to their normal regulatory limits unless a new emergency justifies another extension. PJM continues to plan for longer-term reliability separately from these short-term emergency measures, including adding new generation capacity and transmission upgrades intended to widen the margin between peak demand and available supply. For now, the September order gives the grid a temporary buffer to get through the current heat event without resorting to the more disruptive step of ordering utilities to interrupt service to customers.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

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