July 30, 2026 | Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Order No. 202-26-37 (Federal Power Act Section 202(c))
DOE's SPP Emergency Order Runs Through August 3: Backup Generation Is Now an Operating Tool
On July 26, Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued DOE Order No. 202-26-37, a Federal Power Act Section 202(c) emergency order covering the Southwest Power Pool footprint — 17 states — during the current stretch of hot weather. The order is in effect now and expires at 11:59 p.m. CDT on August 3.
The order does two things. It directs SPP to dispatch specified generation units as needed to maintain reliability. And it authorizes SPP to direct backup generation resources — including units at data centers and other large load sites — to operate as a last resort before declaring an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) 3, or during an EEA 3.
This is the second 202(c) order for SPP in a week. Order No. 202-26-36 was issued July 20 and expired July 21. Both were issued at SPP's request. DOE estimates more than 35 GW of unused backup generation remains available nationwide.
What This Means in the Control Room
The EEA ladder in EOP-011-4 Attachment 1 just gained a rung. Before this summer, the step between EEA 2 and firm load shed was demand response and public appeals. Now, in SPP — as in PJM and Duke earlier this summer — there is a federally authorized directive to bring large-load backup generation online before anyone touches firm load.
For operators and RCs, that means knowing how these directives flow in real time: who initiates, how the dispatch instruction reaches the large load customer, and how those megawatts get accounted for in the capacity picture. The order explicitly states backup generation run under it does not count as a capacity resource.
The pattern matters as much as the order. DOE has now issued more than a dozen 202(c) orders in 2026 across SPP, PJM, MISO, ERCOT, and Duke. Emergency orders are becoming a recurring seasonal operating tool, not a rare event — and operating plans, training, and next-day studies should treat them that way.
EPG Solutions Can Help
Every one of these orders lands squarely on EOP-011, the EEA framework, and directive authority — exactly the material system operators get tested on and drilled on. GridCert RC training was built by people who have worked these alerts from the console, not from a slide deck. Visit EPG Solutions → epgsolutions.services