Energy Department Prevented Blackouts & Saved American Lives During Winter Storms

THE ENERGY DEPARTMENT MITIGATED BLACKOUTS DURING THE WINTER ENERGY EMERGENCY

“We will not allow reckless energy subtraction policies and bureaucratic red tape to put American lives at risk. These orders will mitigate blackouts and help restore affordable and reliable electricity, so American families thrive and America’s manufacturing industries can once again boom.” – U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright

On day one, President Trump declared a national energy emergency. Since then, the Energy Department acted decisively, reversing the Biden Administration’s energy subtraction policies which threatened America’s grid reliability and affordability. These proactive actions, combined with emergency measures taken during recent storms, protected and supported electricity access when Americans needed it most.By saving coal plants, suspending generation regulations that restrict reliable power output, and making available back up generation, the Trump administration mitigated the risk of blackouts during extreme cold.COMPARING WINTER STORM FERN TO URI: Winter Storm Fern was more severe and impacted more American than Texas’ Winter Storm Uri in 2021, yet fewer people lost power during Fern. While more than 4.5 million people in Texas lost power after renewable generation failed in Winter Storm Uri, approximately a million lost their power in Winter Storm Fern.Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the Energy Department issued 39 total emergency orders and extensions, including 20 to keep reliable power online and secure the U.S. energy grid to mitigate blackouts and save lives during Winter Storm Fern and the prolonged cold snap in Florida.In one week, DOE issued fifteen orders and five extensions. The average time for issuing these orders was just under 5 hours and one was issued in under 3 hours.At the end of the Biden Administration, the planned forced closures of coal and natural gas plants had the United States on track to experience 100 times more blackouts by 2030. Thankfully, President Trump is reversing those dangerous policies.

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S ACTIONS SAVING COAL PLANTS SAVED AMERICAN LIVES

“Beautiful, clean coal was the MVP of the huge cold snap we’re in right now. I can say with some confidence, hundreds of American lives have been saved because of President Trump’s actions saving America’s coal industry.” – U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright

In advance of Winter Storm Fern, the Trump Administration kept five reliable coal plants online to meet energy demand.Of the five coal plants the Trump Administration saved, three were in the impacted storm region. All three provided essential power during the storm:In Michigan, the J.H. Campbell Coal Plant in Michigan operated at over 650 MW every day between January 21-February 1.In Indiana, the Schahfer Coal Plant operated at over 285 MW every day from January 21-February 1. The Culley Coal Plant operated at approximately 30 MW almost every day from January 21-February 1.

WINTER STORM FERN DEMONSTRATES THE VALUE OF RELIABLE ENERGY SOURCES FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES

Over the past two weeks, the U.S. faced a winter energy emergency, where reliable and readily dispatchable power stepped up in meeting demand, saving lives and mitigating blackouts in response to Winter Storm Fern.Reliable power can be the difference between life and death during energy emergencies, especially during extreme freezing temperatures and prolonged cold snaps.Trump Administration has made it a priority to reverse the dangerous energy subtraction policies of the Biden Administration, which left the U.S. energy grid on track for an increase in blackouts of 100x by 2030.During Winter Storm Fern, these power sources proved to be essential in meeting peak energy demand.   At peak demand, hydrocarbons provided 71% of power across impacted regions. Hydrocarbons and nuclear sources collectively provided 86% of power across these regions.Solar only provided 2%, and wind provided 8%.In New England, where state leaders have shut down their coal plants and hampered the construction of natural gas infrastructure, hydrocarbons still provided 67% of power during peak demand. Hydrocarbons and nuclear sources collectively provided 84% of power.Oil provided 35% of power during peak generation. Remarkably, burning trash and wood provided more electricity than wind and solar generation during peak demand.Electricity generation from coal and natural gas increased during the storm, while wind and solar generation proved unreliable.During peak demand, coal generation increased 25%, natural gas increased 47%, and electricity generation from oil increased 1,953% compared to the same time last year. Wind generation decreased by 40%.At the peak of the storm, solar only produced about 11% of its nameplate capacity and wind provided only around 23% of its nameplate capacity. 

THE ENERGY DEPARTMENT IS LEVERAGING RELIABLE BACKUP GENERATION TO PREVENT BLACKOUTS

In late January, Secretary Wright sent a letter to the nation’s grid operators asking them to prepare to use backup power at data centers and other major facilities.Since then, DOE received five requests and issued five orders in Texas, the Mid-Atlantic, the Carolinas, and Florida to leverage backup power if needed to prevent blackouts. This was the largest demand response program in American history, and it was executed within 72 hours.In response to the prolonged cold snap in Florida this past weekend, the Energy Department issued seven emergency orders to mitigate the risk of blackouts in Florida.These orders authorized grid operators to use specified generating units and/or and backup generating units within their service areas to operate up to their maximum generation output levels.On February 2, approximately 300 MW of backup generation were leveraged to stabilize the Florida grid thanks to emergency orders issued by Energy Secretary Chris Wright.To ensure the lights stayed on, over 100 different local entities used backup power in accordance with DOE’s emergency orders.A utility in Florida confirmed that hundreds of Publix grocery stores tapped into their backup generation during Winter Storm Fern, thanks to the work of this Administration to leverage these untapped assets to mitigate the risk of blackouts during extreme cold. 

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Data is based on the EIA Grid Monitor for Sunday, January 25th, 2026 in the midst of Storm Fern, across major impacted regions (ERCOT, MISO, SPP, PJM, ISONE, NYISO). The peak is the hour at which energy use was the highest. This represents an average across affected regions.

Data is based on the EIA Grid Monitor for Sunday, January 25th, 2026, in the midst of Storm Fern, and is compared to Sunday, January 26th, 2025 for the same regions. Percentages show how much more (or less) electricity the generation source provided during the peak of Storm Fern to the peak on January 26th, 2025.

Data is based on Grid Status, which pulls data from EIA Grid Monitor, for Sunday, January 25th, 2026, in the midst of Storm Fern.

Nameplate capacity, the maximum amount of electricity a power plant can generate under ideal conditions, is compared to the actual generation at peak on January 25,2026 in all six major impacted regions. Capacity estimates are gathered by region (see ERCOT: 2026 MORA Report; MISO and SPP: EIA Form-860 data and 202512 Market and Operations Report; ISO-NE and NYISO: EIA Electric Power Monthly).