WASHINGTON-U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an emergency order to address critical grid reliability issues facing the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The emergency order directs PJM Interconnection (PJM), in coordination with Constellation Energy Corporation, to ensure Units 3 and 4 of the Eddystone Generating Station in Pennsylvania remain available to operate and to employ economic dispatch to minimize costs for the American people. The units were originally slated to shut down on May 31, 2025.
“The energy sources that perform when you need them most are inherently the most valuable-that’s why natural gas and oil were valuable during peak capacity events this past year,” Secretary Wright said. “Hundreds of American lives have likely been saved because of President Trump’s actions keeping critical generation online, including this Pennsylvania generating station which ran during Winter Storm Fern. This emergency order will mitigate the risk of blackouts and help maintain affordable, reliable, and secure electricity access across the region.”
As outlined in DOE’s Resource Adequacy Report, power outages could increase by 100 times in 2030 if the U.S. continues to take reliable power offline.
PJM expressed support for the original Eddystone DOE emergency order, noting that it has “repeatedly documented and voiced its concerns over the growing risk of a supply and demand imbalance driven by the confluence of generator retirements and demand growth. Such an imbalance could have serious ramifications for reliability and affordability for consumers.”
Secretary Wright first ordered that the two Eddystone Generating Station units remain online past their planned retirement date in a May 30, 2025 emergency order. Subsequent orders were issued later in 2025 and 2026. Keeping these units operational over the past year strengthened energy security in the PJM region, as demonstrated when PJM called on the units to generate electricity during heat waves that hit the region in the summer and during Winter Storm Fern.
This order is in effect beginning on May 25, 2026, through August 22, 2026.
Background:
According to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Eddystone Units generated 26,971 MWh between June 2025 and December 2025, providing vital generation to the region.