US Declares Power Grid Emergency As 67 Million Face Outage Risk

The United States government has issued an emergency order to prevent possible power outages across the Mid-Atlantic region, where the electricity grid serves about 67 million people.

The US Department of Energy announced the order on Monday, directing PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, to activate specified power generation units and deploy backup electricity resources if necessary to maintain supply.

The order takes effect from Tuesday, October 13, through Friday, October 16, amid concerns over increased electricity demand, planned power plant maintenance and scheduled transmission outages.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the measure would make additional electricity generation available to homes and businesses across the region.

According to the department, PJM may direct backup generators to operate as a last resort before declaring its highest-level Energy Emergency Alert or while such an alert is in effect.

The grid operator can also call on transmission owners and electricity distribution companies to implement the emergency measures.

The department said more than 35 gigawatts of unused backup generation capacity remained available nationwide to support electricity supply when needed.

The emergency order followed an application submitted by PJM on October 11, as the operator prepared for a period of heightened pressure on the electricity system.

PJM operates the electricity transmission network across all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia, serving approximately 67 million people.

The development comes amid wider concerns about the reliability of the US power grid as electricity demand rises, particularly from data centres and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The government said the emergency measures were intended to maintain grid reliability and reduce the risk of blackouts during the period covered by the order.