The U.S. Department of Energy on July 26 issued an emergency order directing the Southwest Power Pool, Inc. to dispatch specified generation units and to order their operation as needed to maintain reliability.
The order also authorizes SPP to direct backup generation resources to operate as a last resort before declaring an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) 3 or during an EEA 3. The order was issued pursuant to a request from SPP.
DOE estimates more than 35 gigawatts (GW) of unused backup generation remain available nationwide.
The order is effective on July 26, 2026, and shall expire at 11:59 PM CDT on August 3, 2026.
