The federal government has again taken emergency action to reduce the risk of power outages across the Mid-Atlantic.
For businesses, the important story isn’t the politics surrounding energy policy.
It’s that maintaining reliable electricity during periods of high demand is becoming an increasingly important economic and operational issue.
On September 17, the U.S. Department of Energy issued an emergency order directing PJM Interconnection to make specified generating resources available and operate them when necessary to maintain grid reliability.
PJM manages the electric grid serving tens of millions of people across all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia.
The order was issued ahead of forecast hot weather combined with planned transmission outages and remains in effect through September 18.
It also gives PJM authority to call on certain backup generation as a last resort before the grid reaches the point where firm electricity customers could face interruptions.
That makes this more than an energy-industry story.
For virtually every modern business, reliable electricity is basic infrastructure.
Why the Emergency Order Was Issued
PJM asked the Energy Department for emergency authority on September 16.
DOE responded by directing PJM to dispatch specified generating resources when necessary to meet electricity demand and maintain reliability.
The order also allows PJM to direct backup generation resources—including certain standby generators, batteries and other sources—to operate as a last resort before or during the highest level of grid emergency.
Critical backup systems serving facilities such as hospitals, emergency services, water systems and other essential infrastructure are excluded from that provision.
DOE estimates that more than 35 gigawatts of unused backup generation exists nationwide.
The immediate objective is straightforward:
Make more electricity available if conditions deteriorate enough to threaten reliable service.
Businesses Depend on Electricity Differently
A short power interruption is an inconvenience for some companies.
For others, it can be extremely expensive.
Manufacturers can lose production.
Warehouses can lose automated systems.
Restaurants and grocery stores can lose refrigerated inventory.
Hotels can lose elevators, air conditioning, and reservation systems.
Healthcare facilities must transition to emergency power.
Retailers can lose payment-processing capability.
And data centers operate businesses built almost entirely around continuous electricity availability.
That means grid reliability is increasingly a business-continuity issue, not simply a utility concern.
Companies don’t necessarily need to own a power plant or operate in the energy industry to have significant exposure.
They just need operations that stop when the electricity does.
Data Centers Make the Issue More Important
The reliability debate is becoming particularly significant as electricity demand grows from data centers and other large industrial users.
Artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital services require enormous amounts of computing infrastructure.
That infrastructure requires electricity.
At the same time, manufacturers are electrifying more processes, electric vehicles are adding new demand, and population growth is increasing electricity consumption in some regions.
The challenge isn’t simply generating enough electricity over an entire year.
The grid has to provide enough electricity at the specific time and place it is needed.
A system can have significant generating capacity overall and still face reliability problems when demand spikes, generating units are unavailable, or transmission lines cannot move enough electricity where it is needed.
The September emergency order specifically cites both forecast hot weather and planned transmission outages.
This Isn’t the First Emergency Action This Year
The September 17 order also shouldn’t be viewed in isolation.
DOE has issued several emergency orders involving PJM during 2026.
Earlier orders allowed PJM to use additional generation during periods of high electricity demand and authorized backup generation under emergency conditions.
DOE has also issued longer-running orders keeping certain generating units available in the Mid-Atlantic because of reliability concerns.
That pattern is arguably more significant for businesses than any individual order.
One emergency action can stem from unusual circumstances.
Repeated emergency actions raise a broader question:
How much margin does the grid have when demand, weather, generation outages and transmission constraints occur at the same time?
Reliability Has an Economic Cost
Costs exist on both sides of the reliability equation.
Building power plants, transmission lines, energy storage and other infrastructure requires enormous capital investment.
Maintaining generating plants that might otherwise retire also costs money.
Backup generation isn’t free.
Neither is expanding the grid.
Those expenses eventually influence electricity prices, utility investment, and the economics of industrial development.
But unreliable electricity also costs money.
A factory that loses power doesn’t simply stop paying for electricity.
It can lose production.
Employees can remain on the clock.
Materials can be damaged.
Equipment may need to be restarted.
Orders can be delayed.
Customers can be affected.
For businesses deciding where to build major facilities, electricity availability can therefore become as important as labor, transportation and taxes.
Communities Competing for Investment Should Pay Attention
This is particularly relevant for economic-development organizations trying to attract manufacturers, data centers and other power-intensive businesses.
Historically, communities often competed for projects based on land availability, workforce, incentives and transportation access.
Increasingly, another question matters:
Can the local electric system reliably provide the power the project needs?
A community can have an excellent workforce and an attractive development site and still struggle to win a major industrial project if it can't deliver adequate electricity on the required timeline.
That turns grid capacity into an economic-development asset.
Regions that can add generation and transmission quickly may have an advantage in attracting investment.
Regions facing reliability constraints may find that those constraints eventually limit growth.
Businesses Should Think About Their Own Exposure
Most small businesses don’t need to become experts in electric-grid operations.
They should understand what a power interruption would cost them.
For some companies, the answer may be relatively small.
For others, even a few hours without electricity can create significant losses.
Businesses with substantial exposure should evaluate backup generation, battery systems, uninterruptible power supplies, and business-continuity procedures.
They should also know how long existing backup systems can operate.
A generator that keeps essential systems running for 30 minutes solves a very different problem than one that supports operations for several days.
The appropriate investment depends on the cost of downtime.
There Is an Opportunity Here Too
Grid constraints aren’t only a risk.
They are creating markets.
Companies providing energy storage, backup generation, grid-management software, demand-response technology, microgrids, distributed energy systems, and energy-efficiency solutions may see growing opportunities.
Businesses that can reduce electricity consumption during peak periods can also become valuable participants in grid-management programs.
Developers that can add reliable generating capacity may also see increasing demand from utilities, communities, and large electricity users.
Infrastructure constraints often create opportunities for companies that can solve them.
What Businesses Should Watch
The immediate September 17 emergency order expires September 18.
The larger issue will remain.
Businesses should watch how frequently DOE and PJM need emergency measures during periods of high demand.
They should also watch electricity prices, transmission investment, new generation projects, and the enormous increase in electricity demand associated with data centers and advanced manufacturing.
The central business question isn’t whether the United States can generate enough electricity over an entire year.
It’s whether businesses can get the electricity they need where they need it, when they need it, and at a price that makes their operations economically viable.
For decades, most businesses could treat electricity as infrastructure that simply worked.
Repeated emergency grid actions remind us that this assumption deserves more attention.
Impact: Mixed
Businesses facing the greatest risk: Manufacturing, data centers, warehouses, food distribution, healthcare, hospitality, retail, and other operations where electricity interruptions create significant losses.
Potential beneficiaries: Energy-storage companies, backup-generation providers, grid technology companies, utilities, power developers, microgrid providers and businesses offering energy-efficiency and demand-management solutions.
Sources
U.S. Department of Energy — Energy Secretary Secures Mid-Atlantic Grid Due to Anticipated Stressed System Conditions
https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-secretary-secures-mid-atlantic-grid-due-anticipated-stressed-system-conditions
U.S. Department of Energy — 2026 DOE Emergency Orders
https://www.energy.gov/ceser/2026-doe-202c-orders
U.S. Department of Energy — Energy Secretary Keeps Critical Generation Available in Mid-Atlantic
https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-secretary-keeps-critical-generation-available-mid-atlantic