Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued an emergency order stabilizing the electric grid across 17 states during a period of extreme heat on July 26.
The action was the second such emergency declaration in roughly two weeks, following a mid-Atlantic grid order issued July 14. The back-to-back declarations invoke rarely used federal authority to direct grid operations and signal sustained stress on the nation’s power infrastructure at a time of rapidly rising electricity demand, according to the Department of Energy.
The emergency action allows grid operators to take extraordinary measures to maintain power delivery that would not normally be permitted under standard environmental and operational regulations. The department did not specify which states were covered under the order.
The consecutive emergency orders have fueled debate in Congress and among industry stakeholders about whether the U.S. electric grid has sufficient generation capacity and infrastructure resilience to handle sustained heat events. Critics have pointed to retirements of baseload power plants and growing demand from data centers, electric vehicles, and manufacturing as contributors to grid fragility.
The Department of Energy said Wright acted to secure the grid and protect public safety during the extreme weather event. The emergency authority stems from the Federal Power Act, which grants the secretary broad powers during grid emergencies.
Tens of millions of Americans depend on reliable electricity during extreme heat, when air conditioning demand can push the grid to its operational limits and power outages can become life-threatening.