The U. S.
Department of Energy issued an emergency power order on July 26 for 17 states.
The order authorizes grid operator Southwest Power Pool to bring backup generators online as extreme heat drives electricity demand to dangerous levels.
The order remains in effect through August 3. It aims to avert rolling blackouts across a central and western territory serving 20 million people.
The region includes Kansas, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Texas. Temperatures in southern areas could top 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grid operator Southwest Power Pool requested the intervention after sudden losses in imported electricity on July 24 left the system with razor-thin operating reserves.
The emergency authorization permits the grid operator to dispatch specified units and tap into more than 35 gigawatts of available backup generation nationwide before declaring a Level 3 Energy Emergency Alert.
"The Trump administration is tapping into an abundant supply of unused backup generation to maintain affordable, reliable and secure power for hardworking American families and businesses," said U.
S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.
Department of Energy data shows power outages cost the American economy approximately $44 billion annually.
The current heat wave has created significant operational challenges, as elevated overnight temperatures prevent electrical equipment from cooling down and recovering.
"A level three, is, you're getting to the point where you need to start considering curtailing," said Brandon Wittman, CEO of Yellowstone Valley Electric Cooperative.
Wittman noted that rolling blackouts are rare and require multiple compounding factors beyond extreme heat.
He explained that emergency orders significantly lower the risk of power loss for residential consumers.
"It's going to take something more than just heat to cause an outage or a rolling blackout," said Wittman.
If mandatory load shedding becomes necessary, grid operators typically target large industrial facilities first to preserve power for local residential areas.
"It's not like it rolls across this entire region. They identify certain areas that'll be most beneficial to start turning things off," said Wittman.
Industrial plants, such as oil refineries in major metropolitan regions, offer the largest reduction in electrical demand when power usage must be cut quickly.
"You think about some of the really big industrial loads, the Billings area refineries, that sort of thing.
That's where shedding load really pays off," said Wittman.
Persistent high demand across the region continues to complicate energy sharing between neighboring utility systems.
"It's not just the one day of extreme heat.
It's the extended period that really makes a difference where things just don't have the opportunity to cool down overnight and recover," said Wittman.
Southwest Power Pool announced its western operating territory will remain under a conservative operations advisory until August 1.
Grid officials confirmed that energy emergency advisories are expected to persist throughout peak customer demand periods while the heat wave continues.
"Our West is likely to continue to experience advisories and energy emergency alert conditions, particularly during periods of high customer demand," said Southwest Power Pool in a statement.
Meteorological services project temperatures to remain in the upper 80s and 90s across the northern plains through next week.
