The Energy Department lets PJM call on data-centre generators
On 18 May 2026 the US Secretary of Energy issued Order No. 202-26-23 under section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act: PJM was authorised to direct backup generation at data centres and other large customers to run as a last resort before, or during, an Energy Emergency Alert level 3. PJM's request had come on 17 May because of hot weather; the order ran until 20 May.
Why it matters
The state used an emergency power to treat data centres' own generation as a grid resource, not only as a load on it. An editorial assessment: the order lasted three days and does not itself say whether any data centre was actually run.
What it says. The order takes effect on 18 May; it excludes backup generation serving critical needs (defence, homeland security, first responders, air traffic control, hospitals, 911 centres, water and gas facilities and similar); PJM decides when and within what parameters units run, and must notify the Department within a day of any direction; environmental requirements are to be met to the extent feasible under emergency conditions; the order expires at 11:59 PM Eastern time on 20 May 2026. PJM's request projected reserves of less than 5,800 MW at the 18 May peak — its own estimate. What the record does not claim. The order gives the emergency's cause as hot weather and a shortage of reserves; data centres are named as a means, not the cause. Whether the direction was carried out, and how much power it yielded, the order does not say. Order No. 202-26-24 of 21 May (keeping Constellation's two Eddystone units running) is a separate document about a different plant and is not part of this record.