Energy Secretary Chris Wright ordered PJM Interconnection L.L.C. to hold Units 3 and 4 of the Eddystone Generating Station in Pennsylvania in service, coordinating with Constellation Energy Corporation. The emergency order covers grid reliability in the Mid-Atlantic region and runs from August 23 through November 20, 2026.
The two units had been scheduled to retire on May 31, 2025. Under the order, PJM must also apply economic dispatch when running the units, a method that runs the least costly generation first to limit what the region pays for power.
Wright pointed to recent heat waves in the Mid-Atlantic region. "The energy sources that perform when you need them most are the most valuable," he said, noting that coal, natural gas and nuclear plants kept air conditioning running through the heat waves. He said President Trump and the department are focused on keeping generation available at peak demand, "regardless of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining."
DOE's Resource Adequacy Report projects that power outages could increase 100-fold by 2030 if the United States keeps taking reliable generation offline, the department said.
