Utility Dive: US Dept. Of Energy Grants PJM Request For Emergency Order To Curtail A.I. Data Center Use Of Electricity From The Grid And Go To Back-Up Generators To Cope With May 18-20 Hot Weather Alert

On May 19, 2026, Utility Dive reported the US Department of Energy granted a PJM Interconnection request for an emergency order allowing utilities in its Mid-Atlantic and Midwest zones to curtail A.I. data center use of electricity to cope with the May 18-20 Hot Weather Alert.

Under the order issued May 18, electricity could be curtailed for data centers that would go off the grid using back-up generators.

PJM said it expected to have less than 5.8 GW of reserve power generation due to planned power plant maintenance outages and that Maryland and Virginia could be especially stressed by the unseasonably hot weather.

PJM said more than 40 GW of power generation would be offline for planned outages.

Utility Dive quoted PJM as saying-- “The projected level of generation outages coupled with the forecasted demand raises a significant risk of emergency conditions that could jeopardize electric reliability and public safety.”

Click Here for the Utility Dive article.

Forecast Peaks

PJM is forecasting a May 19 demand peak of 135,961 MW and a May 20 demand peak of 119,103 MW.

PJM’s planning for this summer includes unlikely but plausible scenarios of up to 169,100 MW of demand.

PJM’s all-time record summer peak load was recorded in 2006 at 165,563 MW.

The PJM Interconnection operates the electric grid in 13 states and the District of Columbia.  The states include Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

NewsClips:

-- PJM Interconnection Extends Maximum Generation Alert To May 20

-- Bloomberg: Heat Strains US Power Grids That Need Off-Season Repairs; PJM Asked All Generators To Remain Online To Help Prevent Blackouts, But Some Plants Remained Offline 

Resource Links:

-- PJM Interconnection: Extends Maximum Generation Alert To May 19; Issues Pre-Emergency Demand Response Call To 3 Utilities; Hot Weather Alert Extended To May 20 For Mid-Atlantic Zone  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Interconnection Prepared To Meet Summer Peak Energy Demands With Adequate Resources Under Expected Conditions [PaEN]

[Posted: May 19, 2026]  PA Environment Digest