Department of Energy Warns Data Centers To Stop Straining Power Grid As Brutal Heat Wave Hits The U.S.

A brutal heat wave has hit the Central and Eastern parts of the United States.

The heat wave has already wreaked havoc on many Americans’ plans as Independence Day weekend is set to kick off.

One example is the Great American State Fair was forced to be postponed  after temperatures reached 100 degrees with the heat index reaching 111 degrees.

Take a look:

BREAKING: The Great American State Fair has been temporarily postponed due to excessive heat, as a dangerous heat dome blankets the East Coast with record-breaking temperatures over the 4th of July weekend.

The event is not expected to reopen until 5 p.m.

CNN: “The ground… pic.twitter.com/IY2hQJILuC

— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) July 3, 2026

Now the Department of Energy is ordering data centers on the East Coast to use their own backup power in order to ease the strain on the power grid.

Gizmodo had the full scoop:

As a brutal heat wave hits much of the central and eastern United States this week, the Department of Energy wants power-hungry data centers to help ease the strain on the grid.

The Energy Department issued an emergency order earlier this week allowing PJM, the grid operator for 13 states and Washington, D.C., to require data centers and other large customers to use their own backup power.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright authorized PJM to direct heavy power users to rely on their own backup generation as a last resort before potential blackouts.

“Maintaining affordable, reliable, and secure power in the PJM service territory is non-negotiable,” said Wright in a press release.

The department estimates there are more than 35 gigawatts of unused backup generation available nationwide, enough to power roughly 26 million homes.

GMA reported the Energy Department has declared an emergency which will allow PJM to operate at maximum output to ensure Americans are not without power:

The Energy Department has declared an emergency for the nation’s largest power grid as a massive heat dome threatens electricity demand across areas home to 160 million Americans. pic.twitter.com/tDgmCLRMwp

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 1, 2026

The New York Times had more details to share on the heat wave:

Aggressive heat swept across the New York region as sweltering weather stifled the Northeast on Thursday, disrupting travel and prompting emergency measures as states took precautions against hazardous heat and humidity ahead of a holiday weekend.

The heat wave toppled records​, many set during another sweltering summer nearly 60 years ago​.​ The temperature in Central Park reached 100 degrees by 2 p.m., according to the National Weather Service, the first time it was that hot there since July 18, 2012, and it tied its daily record set in 1966.

LaGuardia​ Airport in Queens hit 104, surpassing its daily high of 101 from 1966. It was the same story at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where the high was 102, breaking the same-day record of 101, also from 1966. And Newark Liberty International Airport reached 104 degrees, breaking its daily record of 103 set ​all the way back in 1901.

Some 163 million people — from Missouri to Maine and south to Mississippi — live in areas that experienced dangerous heat on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Much of the weather that scorched the Midwest spilled over into the Northeast, sending “heat risk” forecasts in major cities — including New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Atlanta — into the most extreme risk category through Saturday.

Temperatures in those cities hovered around 100 by noon on Thursday, with several daily records at risk of falling.

Heat indexes — measures of how hot the air feels based on temperature and humidity — surged across the eastern United States, meaning heat cramps or heat exhaustion are likely, and heat stroke is possible, with prolonged exposure or physical activity.

A weather station in Brooklyn recorded a heat index of 109, a threshold that was fairly widespread across the East Coast.

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The heat will ​persist on Friday, and poor air quality is expected to exacerbate health risks. ​New York City officials said the Air Quality Index was forecast to reach levels considered unhealthy for sensitive groups from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Those groups include children, older adults, pregnant people and those with respiratory conditions.