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, following an extreme heatwave sweeping across parts of the country.
On Sunday, the US Department of Energy ordered the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) grid operator to bring previously unused reserve power plants online in order to maintain the reliability of electricity supply. The order applies to a region covering parts of 17 states with a total population of around 20 million, stretching from North Dakota to Louisiana.
The decision was taken after SPP warned that emergency conditions were expected to persist during the hours of highest electricity demand. The grid operator assessed that the electricity system was under strain due to potential plant failures, declining output from wind power generators, and reduced electricity supply from neighbouring grids.
In addition to activating reserve plants, the Department of Energy also granted SPP the authority to deploy all emergency power resources as a last resort before declaring Energy Emergency Alert Level 3, a status that typically represents the final step before operators implement rolling blackouts. The Department of Energy said the emergency order was issued at SPP’s request.
“The Trump administration is harnessing abundant reserve generation capacity to keep electricity affordable, reliable and secure for America’s working families and businesses,” said US Energy Secretary Chris Wright in a statement, quoted by Reuters on Monday (27 July 2026).
Risk of Rolling Blackouts Rises
The threat of rolling blackouts has increased over the past week. Last Friday, the SPP grid suddenly lost imported electricity supplies.
The situation left reserve margins at critically thin levels amid rising risks of generator failures and falling renewable energy output. The affected areas include parts of Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah.
SPP managed to avoid blackouts by calling on the public to voluntarily reduce electricity consumption to preserve energy reserves. However, the operator expects demand in the western region to peak on Sunday night as temperatures are forecast to reach 32 degrees Celsius.
Under normal conditions, SPP is a net exporter of electricity thanks to its large wind power capacity. However, the widespread heatwave has driven up electricity consumption in neighbouring regions as well, leaving them unable to supply additional power to the SPP grid.
SPP said its western region would remain under Conservative Operations Advisory status until 1 August. The status was imposed to heighten vigilance against potential disruptions to the reliability of the electricity system.
“Our western region will likely continue to face operational advisories and energy emergency conditions, particularly during periods when customer demand peaks,” SPP said.