Regulatory Pulse

Grid Pulse | July 16, 2026 — DOE Orders PJM to Tap Backup Generation as Heat Bears Down
DOE issued a Federal Power Act Section 202(c) emergency order on July 14, 2026 directing PJM to dispatch specified units and tap backup generation through July 21 to prevent blackouts during forecasted extreme heat. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 15, 2026 — DOE Issues Emergency 202(c) Order for PJM as Peaks Push Toward the Record
DOE issued a Federal Power Act Section 202(c) emergency order directing PJM to dispatch specified units and authorizing backup generation through July 21, as forecasted peak loads climb within roughly 3,600 MW of the all-time record during this week's heat. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 14, 2026 — PJM Issues Hot Weather Alert as Forecasted Peaks Push Toward 163 GW
PJM issued a Hot Weather Alert for its entire footprint for July 14–15 with forecasted peaks up to 162,699 MW — less than two weeks after the RTO set an estimated all-time record peak of 168,158 MW on July 2. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 13, 2026 — ERCOT's Batch Zero Is Live: Large Load Interconnection Just Changed in Texas
ERCOT's Batch Zero Process for large load interconnection took effect July 11, 2026, replacing individual studies with system-wide batch studies as more than 438,000 MW of proposed demand — nearly 90% of it data centers — presses into the Texas queue. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 12, 2026 — DOE's Draft 2026 Transmission Needs Study Lands: $11B in Congestion Costs and a Grid Built by Incumbents
DOE released the draft 2026 National Transmission Needs Study for public comment, quantifying $11 billion in 2023 congestion costs and identifying load growth as the dominant driver of future transmission need across all 20 study regions. Read more...
Grid operators managing record summer peak demand and emergency reserve dispatch
Grid Pulse | July 11, 2026 — PJM Confirms All-Time Peak Load: 168,158 MW Through Record July Heat
PJM confirmed to stakeholders that it served an all-time record peak load of 168,158 MW on July 2, 2026 — breaking a 20-year-old record while relying on emergency demand response... Read more...
Data-center large load, nearby generation and transmission studied under new grid tariffs
Grid Pulse | July 10, 2026 — ERCOT's Old Large Load Study Process Dies Tonight. Batch Zero Goes Live Tomorrow.
ERCOT's Batch Zero Process (PGRR145/NPRR1325) takes effect July 11, 2026, replacing the individual Large Load Interconnection Study process with a system-wide batch study approach — a structural shift in how... Read more...
Grid planners modeling computational loads, protection settings and transmission impacts
Grid Pulse | July 8, 2026 — NERC's Large-Load Clock Is Ticking: Alert Responses Due August 3
NERC has accelerated its Large Load Action Plan in FERC Docket RM26-4, with registered-entity responses to its Level 3 Essential Action Alert due August 3, 2026 and new registry criteria... Read more...
Utility emergency operations coordinating transmission reliability through severe weather
Grid Pulse | July 7, 2026 — DOE Emergency Orders Put Data Center Curtailment on the Table as PJM Chased a 20-Year-Old Peak Record
During the early-July heat wave, PJM operated under two DOE Section 202(c) emergency orders — including one authorizing last-resort curtailment of data centers with backup generation — as forecasted demand... Read more...
Grid operators managing record summer peak demand and emergency reserve dispatch
Grid Pulse | July 6, 2026 — PJM Likely Broke Its 20-Year Peak Record, and DOE Emergency Orders Are Still Active
PJM's July 2 peak likely surpassed its 2006 all-time record even with roughly 6,000 MW of demand response deployed, while extended DOE 202(c) emergency orders — including authority to shift... Read more...
Utility emergency operations coordinating transmission reliability through severe weather
Grid Pulse | July 5, 2026 — PJM Likely Broke Its 20-Year Peak Record as DOE Data Center Curtailment Order Runs Through July 6
PJM's July 2 peak likely surpassed its 20-year-old all-time demand record while DOE 202(c) emergency orders — including first-of-their-kind authority to curtail data centers to backup generation — remain in... Read more...
Grid operators managing record summer peak demand and emergency reserve dispatch
Grid Pulse | July 4, 2026 — PJM Likely Shattered Its All-Time Peak Record and Nearly Curtailed Data Centers
PJM's July 2 peak likely exceeded its 20-year-old all-time demand record of 165,600 MW, forcing emergency demand response and a DOE 202(c) order authorizing data center curtailment as a last... Read more...