To minimize the risk of energy shortfalls and power outages in the Mid-Atlantic region, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued an Aug. 28 emergency order directing PJM Interconnection LLC and Constellation Energy Corp. to keep two subcritical steam boiler-turbine generator units operating.
“With unprecedented energy demand and resource retirements outpacing new generation additions, the country is facing an energy emergency,” DOE Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday. “Today’s order proves that the Trump administration is dedicated to confronting this critical issue. This administration considers power outages and soaring energy costs to be unacceptable.”
Units 3 and 4 of the Eddystone Generating Station in Pennsylvania, each with 380 megawatts of generation capacity, can run on either natural gas or oil, depending on market conditions. They were initially scheduled for retirement on May 31.
But DOE issued a May 30 emergency order directing PJM, in coordination with Constellation Energy, to keep the two Eddystone Generating Station units online for 90 days past their planned retirement date.
Keeping these units operational over the past 90 days has improved energy security in the PJM region, as demonstrated by the fact that PJM called on the Eddystone Units to generate electricity during heat waves that hit the region in June and July, according to DOE.
And the emergency conditions that led to the issuance of the first order persist and require this second order, according to Wright.
“I hereby determine that an emergency exists in the PJM region due to a shortage of facilities for the generation of electric energy, resource adequacy concerns, and other causes,” according to the order Wright signed that took effect on Aug. 28 and continues for another 90 days until Nov. 26.
As outlined in DOE’s Grid Reliability Evaluation, power outages could increase by 100 times in 2030 if the U.S. continues to take reliable power offline.