Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed Order No. 202-26-50 on October 12 under Federal Power Act section 202(c). Effective October 13–16. Covers the PJM region (roughly 65 million people across Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and D.C.).
BREAKING 🚨 The Federal Government just declared a POWER GRID EMERGENCY across 13 states + D.C…
Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia… and Washington D.C.
The Department… pic.twitter.com/zG25nIgswE
— Patrick Humphrey (@PatrickHumphre) October 13, 2026
PJM requested it on October 11. Forecasts demand around 111,500 MW or higher on October 13. Large amount of generation unavailable for autumn maintenance and planned transmission outages. Available capacity expected to come within about 900 MW of the reserve margin on October 14. Unusually warm fall weather adding to the load.
But yeah, our infrastructure can totally support thousands more AI farms that are set to destroy life as we know it. https://t.co/fjg0EbDpNL
— Jessica Marie Baumgartner (@jessmbaum) October 13, 2026
Order directs PJM to dispatch specified generating units as needed to maintain reliability. Also authorizes PJM to order backup generation resources (including at data centers and other large loads) to run as a last resort before declaring an Energy Emergency Alert Level 3 or during one. Provides temporary relief from environmental operating limits where necessary for reliability, to the maximum extent practicable. PJM already issued a Maximum Generation Alert and Load Management Alert for October 13.
No firm load shedding reported. Order is precautionary to avoid blackouts.
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