PJM Interconnection issued a Maximum Generation Alert and Load Management Alert for Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, and extended both through Wednesday, Oct. 14, as unseasonably warm weather pushed demand up while a large share of the region's generation was out for fall maintenance. PJM also called Pre-Emergency Load Management (demand response), recalled generation maintenance outages and said a U.S. Department of Energy emergency order in effect Oct. 13–16 authorized it to direct data centers and other large loads to switch to backup generation if necessary.
On Oct. 16, PJM followed with a Capacity Advisory for Monday, Oct. 19, citing about 72,000 MW of expected generation outages.
Thin margins during maintenance season
Transmission and generation facilities are typically taken out of service for maintenance and construction between mid-September and early December, so they are available for winter peaks. In mid-October, warm weather collided with that schedule. According to PJM's operations update, generation outages totaled about 61,000 MW on Oct. 13, against forecast loads of 112,447 MW that day and 113,312 MW on Oct. 14; PJM noted the forecasts could change.
PJM's response came in layers. The Maximum Generation Alert and Load Management Alert put members on notice that the system might need emergency generation and demand reductions; the alert itself required no customer action. A Capacity Advisory covered Oct. 13–14. PJM recalled all active generation maintenance outage tickets in its region effective noon on Oct. 14, meaning units scheduled to be offline for work were asked to return. It called Pre-Emergency Load Management on both days for the afternoon peak and for the evening net-load peak, when solar output drops to zero, and it recalled non-firm sales to neighboring systems.
"Unseasonable weather patterns are providing fewer days to perform important maintenance or construction," Mike Bryson, PJM's senior vice president of System Operations, said in the update. "This is the new reality that grid operators are facing," he added, saying PJM's procedures, along with the DOE orders, give it additional tools to maintain reserve margins.
The large-load provision
The element of the October event most relevant to data center operators is the DOE order. PJM said it requested and received a combined emergency order, No. 202-26-50, effective Oct. 13–16. As PJM described it, the order provides temporary relief from environmental permit restrictions for generating units and authorizes PJM to direct data centers and other Large Load customers to switch to backup generation resources if necessary. In its Oct. 14 update, PJM said it had not had to make use of Large Load backup generation to date. PJM also said DOE has issued similar orders during extreme conditions in 2026.
The October order was not the first to carry this authority. In its Oct. 12 review of September hot weather operations, PJM said DOE issued a 202(c) emergency order effective Sept. 2–8 that let generation subject to operating restrictions keep running and authorized PJM to direct Large Loads to run on emergency backup generation if necessary.
September as context
The September review describes two unseasonably warm stretches, Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 and Sept. 15–18. In the first, peak load reached about 152,800 MW at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 1, and generation and transmission outages peaked at 15,502 MW, or 8.47% of system capacity, on Aug. 31. PJM called demand response on Sept. 1 to reduce demand through the net-load peak, helping manage transmission constraints that were bottling generation in congested areas of Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
The second event arrived with routine maintenance outages well underway. The system peaked at just under 127,000 MW at 4:50 p.m. on Sept. 17, and outages reached 20.7% of system capacity, or 37,916 MW, on Sept. 18. For that period, PJM said it called on demand response resources earlier in the operating day. In both events, solar output fell quickly after sunset, and PJM used emergency procedures to cover net load in those hours. PJM said rising demand is outpacing new generation, tightening conditions during the shoulder season.
Paul Dajewski, PJM's senior manager of Dispatch, described the tension to PJM's Operating Committee: "we have to take these transmission and generation outages, and we can't simply defer them indefinitely." Of the Sept. 15–18 event, he said, "There was a lot of customer demand to serve given system conditions."
A new emergency step for Oct. 19
On Oct. 16, PJM issued a Capacity Advisory for Oct. 19, following what it described as a week of unseasonably warm fall weather in which it implemented procedures to meet higher demand while planned seasonal outages continued. Forecast load for Oct. 19 was about 94,573 MW, with expected generation outages of about 72,000 MW alongside planned transmission outages.
"A Capacity Advisory is a new Emergency Procedure endorsed by PJM Members in June," PJM said. It applies when projected conditions point to an approaching capacity shortfall and gives advance notice that capacity is tightening. Further steps PJM listed as possible include recalling or rescheduling generation outages, calling generation out of market, recalling transmission outages to improve generation deliverability, and notifying neighboring systems to expect less reliance on imports from PJM.
What Happens Next
As of Oct. 20, the DOE order's Oct. 13–16 window and the Oct. 19 Capacity Advisory date have both passed, and PJM has not posted an outcome for Oct. 19 or named further alert, advisory or order dates. Under both orders as PJM described them, the authority to direct large loads to backup generation applied only within each order's stated window, so any future use would require a new DOE 202(c) order. PJM's fall maintenance season, during which it schedules generation and transmission outages, runs through early December.
