Grid Emergency Measures Become Routine as Data Center Demand Surges

The article reports that emergency federal orders under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, once rare, are now being used routinely to keep the U.S. power grid stable. PJM, the grid operator for 65 million people across 13 states, hit an all-time peak load of 168,158 MW in July 2026. Since January, PJM has requested the order three times; nationally, it has been invoked 43 times in the past 14 months, compared to just 20 times in the previous 50 years. The primary driver is surging demand from data centers, especially in Northern Virginia, where Dominion Energy faces a 70-gigawatt interconnection queue—nearly three times its all-time system peak. Aging power plants, extreme heat causing forced outages, and slow permitting for new generation compound the crisis. PJM's capacity auction prices have skyrocketed from $29 per megawatt-day to over $329, with data centers responsible for 63% of the increase. The article highlights that these emergency measures are becoming a permanent fixture of grid operations.