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Energy Department invokes emergency grid authority as Mid-Atlantic heat risk peaks

9/18/2026

Department of Energy moved on September 17 to keep the Mid-Atlantic grid from going dark, authorizing PJM Interconnection to call on backup generation resources as extreme heat drove blackout risk across the region.

The authorization runs through September 18. The case for the intervention is defensible by design; what it implies about the grid's available margin is the harder conversation.

What the authorization changes PJM Interconnection coordinates electricity delivery across the Mid-Atlantic grid.

Under normal conditions, grid operators balance supply and demand through established reserve protocols, without federal authorization.