PJM Wins Emergency DOE Authority to Force Data Centers Onto Backup Generators Within 15 Minutes

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The largest US grid operator secured a DOE 202(c) emergency order letting transmission owners curtail data centers and other large loads with at least 50 MW of peak demand, requiring them to switch to their own backup generation within 15 minutes of an emergency signal. Hospitals, 911 centers, water treatment, air traffic control, and defense installations are exempt, and curtailment is a last resort ahead of voltage reduction or rolling blackouts. Separately, PJM's board on July 27 proposed a backstop capacity auction and a rule that new large loads arriving without their own power supply get curtailed first as demand nears emergency conditions — PJM peaked above 166,241 MW on July 2, beating the 2006 record.