US Energy Department Steps Up Emergency Orders to Protect Power Grid

By Mintesinot Nigussie  |  September 14, 2026

The US Department of Energy has issued a series of emergency orders requiring power generators and grid operators to keep additional electricity capacity available, as the federal government moves repeatedly to protect power-system reliability amid rising demand and tight supply.

The latest order, issued on September 13, directs TransAlta Centralia Generation to keep Unit 2 of the Centralia Generating Station in Washington state available for operation through December 11. The unit must remain ready to operate at the direction of Gridforce Energy Management or the Southwest Power Pool Western Regional Coordinator.

The order is the latest in a series issued under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, which gives the energy secretary emergency authority to require changes in the operation of electricity facilities when necessary to address reliability concerns.

The department has issued or extended numerous such orders since the start of 2026, covering major electricity markets and individual generating plants across the US.

Several of the interventions have involved coal-fired power stations that were scheduled for retirement or were otherwise not expected to remain in regular service. In August, the department ordered the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, in coordination with Consumers Energy, to keep the coal-fired J.H. Campbell Generating Plant in Michigan available through November 14. The plant had originally been scheduled to shut down in May 2025.

Similar orders have required continued availability of generating units at the Eddystone Generating Station in Pennsylvania, the Wagner Generating Station in Maryland and the F.B. Culley and Schahfer plants in Indiana.

The department has also directed regional grid operators to dispatch specified generating units and, in some cases, call on backup generation as a last resort before or during the most severe Energy Emergency Alert level.

In January, the department issued emergency orders covering electricity markets including PJM Interconnection, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, ISO New England, Duke Energy and the Florida Municipal Power Agency. Some of those orders allowed generators to operate at maximum output despite air-quality or other permit limitations during the emergencies.

The interventions have increasingly focused on areas facing anticipated electricity demand, including regions serving data centres and other large electricity consumers. In May, the department authorised PJM to deploy backup generation resources at data centres and other major facilities as a last resort during grid emergencies.

The repeated orders come as electricity demand growth, extreme weather and the expansion of large power-consuming facilities place additional pressure on US power systems. Grid operators have increasingly sought to maintain access to existing generating capacity while new generation and transmission infrastructure is developed.

The latest Centralia order will remain in effect from September 13 through December 11, while other emergency directives issued earlier in the year have either expired or been extended for additional periods.

The series of orders illustrates the federal government's increasing use of emergency powers to preserve generating capacity and manage electricity reliability while the US power sector undergoes a period of changing demand, generation investment and grid expansion.

Source: FSX Business News