The US government issued an emergency order on Sunday (25 January) allowing Texas’ regional transmission operator (RTO), the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), to use backup generators at data center sites to prevent rotating outages caused by a winter storm currently impacting much of the state.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, this administration is determined to take swift and decisive action to protect the American people from tragedies, such as Winter Storm Uri,” US Energy Secretary Chris Wright wrote in the order.

Earlier last week, the RTO forecast it would have sufficient capacity to meet demand; however, the gap narrowed significantly, prompting the federal order.

"At this time, ERCOT does not anticipate any reliability issues on the statewide electric grid," spokesperson Trudi Webster said in a statement.

Energy demand is expected to spike during the storm, with increased demand for energy to heat homes and run appliances.

“This extreme level of demand raises a significant risk of emergency conditions that could jeopardize electric reliability and public safety,” ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas wrote in a letter to the Energy Secretary. Vegas went on to request that the Department of Energy (DOE) allow ERCOT to require data centers and other industrial facilities to stop drawing electricity from the statewide grid. At ERCOT’s direction, these facilities would have to use their on-site backup generators for power or shut off.

ERCOT would only use this authority after it has exhausted most of its other tools to prevent rotating outages, Vegas wrote.

In the order, Wright said that ERCOT would have to notify the DOE if any of the backup units were deployed, as they are diesel-powered and emit high levels of noise and air pollution.

The order is to remain in effect through Tuesday (27 January).