PJM is keeping generators running rather than calling an emergency. The regional grid operator issued a maximum generation alert and a load management alert for Sept. 3, a day after serving a preliminary peak of 152,518 megawatts on Sept. 1. As of 4 p.m. on Sept. 2, 2026, PJM forecast a nearly matching peak of 152,496 megawatts for Sept. 3, following a lower peak of 143,241 megawatts forecast for Sept. 2. PJM said the alert does not require any action from customers.
What the alerts direct PJM's grid owners to do
A maximum generation alert is aimed at PJM's transmission and generation owners, not at homes or businesses. It asks those owners to decide whether scheduled maintenance or equipment testing can be deferred or canceled, so units stay online and keep producing the power the region needs. The alert also tells neighboring grid systems that PJM electricity exports to them may be curtailed, a procedural step that lets those systems plan around less power flowing in from PJM.
PJM issued the load management alert alongside it. That alert gives advance notice that PJM may declare load management action, including Pre-Emergency and Emergency Demand Response. Demand Response programs pay customers who sign up in advance to reduce their electricity use once PJM calls on them during an emergency.
A Hot Weather Alert also stays in effect across the entire PJM region through Sept. 3. PJM issues that alert ahead of forecast hot weather or high humidity, to prepare transmission and generation personnel and facilities for the higher demand that comes with it.
A DOE order and an early demand call
PJM requested and received a combined emergency order from the U.S. Department of Energy, effective through Sept. 8. The order grants temporary relief from environmental permit restrictions on generating units, and it lets PJM direct backup generation resources at large loads to operate, if required.
On Sept. 1, PJM called a Pre-Emergency Load Management Action in the Pepco, BGE, AEP, Dominion, and ComEd territories. A dedicated team of operators inside PJM's control rooms directs the power grid around the clock, using technology to balance supply and demand. The team builds scenarios for weather, emergency conditions, and equipment failure in advance, adjusts resource output as demand shifts, and works to keep transmission lines and facilities from becoming overloaded.
Forecast peaks through Sept. 3
| Date | Forecasted peak load |
|---|---|
| Sept. 2 | 143,241 MW |
| Sept. 3 | 152,496 MW |
Sept. 1's preliminary peak of 152,518 MW already sits above both of those forecasts, and the Sept. 3 forecast is within 22 megawatts of it.
Our read
PJM has stacked its preparation ahead of the numbers rather than behind them: a maintenance-deferral alert, a standing Hot Weather Alert, a DOE order secured before it might be needed, and a Pre-Emergency Load Management Action already called in five utility territories. Set against that buildup, PJM's own language is measured. The alerts direct generation owners and give demand response customers advance notice, not orders for homes and businesses to change their electricity use.
