ALERT: “Hot Weather” Prompts Emergency Order Impacting 17 States – “Mitigate The Risk Of Blackouts”

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued an emergency order across 17 states due to the region’s “energy emergency brought on by hot weather conditions.”

“The order directs the Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP) to dispatch specified generation units and to order their operation as needed to maintain reliability,” a release from the DOE read.

“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,” it continued.

“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,” Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said.

“The previous administration’s energy subtraction policies weakened the grid, leaving Americans more vulnerable during emergency events. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are reversing those failures and using every available tool to ensure Americans have continued access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy to power and cool their homes,” he added.

Blackout fears erupt as 17 US states are placed under power emergency https://t.co/ufGFBdIweW

— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) July 27, 2026

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Reuters shared further:

The ⁠risk of rotating blackouts escalated in SPP during the past week. On Friday, a sudden loss of electricity imported from neighboring grids left SPP with razor-thin reserves for possible power plant outages and falling renewable generation in its territory spanning parts of Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah.

SPP avoided outages that day by appealing for voluntary ⁠conservation of electricity to maintain reserves. But SPP expects the western territory’s highest demand of the week on Sunday evening as temperatures rise above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius).

Usually SPP is a net exporter of electricity because of its massive ⁠base of wind generation. Last week’s heat meant neighboring grids could not provide much power to SPP because they faced the same weather-driven high demand.

SPP said its West region will remain until August 1 in a conservative ⁠operations advisory, which was issued to raise awareness of potential threats to the grid’s reliability.

“Our West is likely to continue to experience advisories and energy emergency alert conditions, particularly during periods of high customer demand,” SPP said in a statement.

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The full list of states impacted in the emergency order includes:

• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Texas
• Utah
• Wyoming

Approximately 20 million people live in the affected area.

“The order is effective on July 26, 2026, and shall expire at 11:59 PM CDT on August 3, 2026,” the DOE stated.

The order is a last resort before issuing Level 3 Energy Emergency Alerts, which could lead to rolling blackouts throughout the U.S. https://t.co/IE3dl3ONRO

— WGRZ (@WGRZ) July 27, 2026

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WUSA9 has more:

The emergency order isn’t aimed at homeowners and renters directly, meaning it’s not directing you to do anything specific to save electricity.

Experts recommend setting your thermostat higher than you normally would during a heat wave, because it can be especially pricy to cool a home during a summer heat wave.

That being said, heat kills more Americans than any other weather event, including tornadoes and flooding, even though most heat-related deaths are preventable through outreach and intervention, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Safety is the No. 1 priority, officials caution.

“Heat is the silent killer. No one thinks about it,” said Ben Zaitchik, a professor and climate scientist at Johns Hopkins University whose research includes heat waves. “It’s getting hotter just about everywhere. That means even without a particular weather phenomenon, like what we’re seeing in Texas right now, we’re seeing temperatures we aren’t used to, and that in its own right is a risk.”

The body normally cools itself by sweating, but extreme heat can interrupt your ability to do that, potentially leading to heat exhaustion or heat stroke, organ failure or death.

Older adults, young children and people with chronic illnesses like diabetes are most at risk. But that doesn’t mean healthy people are immune, said Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability.

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