Grid operator declares energy emergency today, asks feds for power to force data centers onto backup diesel generators as May heat strains capacity
The grid managing electricity for 67 million Americans declared an energy emergency today — and asked the federal government for permission to disconnect data centers from the grid
PJM Interconnection — the grid operator managing electricity for more than 67 million customers across 13 states and the District of Columbia — filed an emergency request Saturday asking U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright to issue federal emergency powers under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act.
The emergency is active today, Monday, May 18, 2026.
An unseasonably hot mid-May heat wave pushing temperatures into the nineties across much of the eastern United States has collided with 40,400 MW of planned generation outages — equipment taken offline for scheduled maintenance before anyone anticipated a heat event of this magnitude in the middle of May. The result is a grid that cannot meet its own reserve requirements.
PJM projects having less than 5,800 MW of reserves during Monday’s peak against a projected demand of approximately 135,000 MW during Monday’s and Tuesday’s evening peaks. The grid operator has already recalled every generator and transmission outage it possibly can. It has already issued a Max Generation and Load Management Alert and an Energy Emergency Alert Level 1.
It is not enough.
So PJM asked the Secretary of Energy for permission to disconnect data centers from the utility grid and force them onto their backup diesel generators — and to do so, in PJM’s own words, notwithstanding any applicable environmental limitations under federal, state, or local law or regulation.
The request targets the BGE, PEPCO, and Dominion zones covering Maryland, Virginia, and the Washington DC region as areas of particular stress due to transmission constraints limiting power imports into those areas.
PJM’s letter makes clear the stakes. Without the emergency order, the grid operator may be forced into firm load interruption — in plain terms, cutting power to homes and businesses. The data center backup generation measure is a last resort before that happens, authorized only after PJM has deployed all other available reliability tools.
The order was requested to be effective by noon today and remain in effect through 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, May 20.