Trump Issues Emergency Order as 17 US States Face Blackout Threat

The administration of US President Donald Trump has issued an emergency order to prevent rolling blackouts as an extreme heatwave sweeps across parts of the country. The US Department of Energy on Sunday directed the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) grid operator to run reserve power generation sources, previously unused, to maintain electricity supply reliability. The order covers an area spanning parts of 17 states with a total population of around 20 million, stretching from North Dakota to Louisiana. The decision came after SPP warned that emergency conditions were expected to persist during peak load hours. The grid operator assessed that the power system was under pressure due to potential generation disruptions, declining output from wind farms, and reduced electricity imports from neighbouring grids. Besides activating reserve plants, the Department of Energy also authorised SPP to operate all emergency power resources as a last resort before declaring an Energy Emergency Alert Level 3, the status typically preceding the implementation of rolling blackouts. The department stated the emergency order was issued at SPP’s request. “The Trump administration is tapping into abundant reserve power supplies to keep electricity affordable, reliable, and secure for working American families and businesses,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. The risk of rolling blackouts has intensified over the past week. On Friday, the SPP grid suddenly lost imported electricity supplies, leaving reserve margins extremely thin amid heightened risks of generation outages and declining renewable energy output. Affected areas include parts of Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah. SPP managed to avoid blackouts by asking the public to voluntarily reduce electricity consumption to preserve energy reserves. However, the operator expects electricity demand in the western region to peak on Sunday evening as temperatures are forecast to exceed 32 degrees Celsius. Under normal conditions, SPP is a net exporter of electricity thanks to its large wind power capacity. But the widespread heatwave has caused neighbouring regions to also experience surging electricity consumption, leaving them unable to supply additional energy to the SPP grid. SPP said its western region will remain under a Conservative Operations Advisory until 1 August, a status applied to heighten vigilance against potential system reliability issues.