Trump Admin Taps Data Centers for Emergency Power as Historic Winter Storm Threatens U.S. Grid
The Trump administration is taking proactive steps to safeguard the nation’s power supply as a massive winter storm threatens to strain the electrical grid across much of the United States.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has formally requested that grid operators prepare to utilize backup power from nontraditional sources — including data centers, manufacturing facilities, and commercial sites — as Winter Storm Fern moves across the country. The storm is forecast to bring heavy snow, ice, sleet, and dangerously low temperatures from the southern Rockies to the Northeast, raising alarms about widespread outages. Federal officials warn it could rank among the most severe winter challenges the grid has faced in years, according to The Washington Times.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, acting under the authority of President Donald J. Trump’s administration, notified reliability coordinators and balancing authorities that the department is treating the situation as a “national energy emergency.” In a letter sent Thursday, Wright explained that the DOE is preparing to invoke its authority under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to ensure backup generation can be deployed to prevent catastrophic power failures.
“Across the country there are gigawatts of readily available backup generation that have remained largely untapped until now,” Wright wrote, arguing that mobilizing this capacity could save lives and prevent billions of dollars in economic losses. He also blamed current grid fragility on what he described as “energy subtraction policies of the previous administration.”
According to DOE estimates, the United States has more than 35 gigawatts of unused backup power capacity — enough to supply electricity to tens of millions of homes. Officials say tapping this reserve during periods of extreme demand could help avert blackouts and stabilize energy prices as the storm intensifies. For context, one gigawatt roughly equals the output of a large nuclear power plant.
Grid operators were instructed that if electricity demand approaches blackout thresholds, they should be prepared to direct backup generators — particularly at data centers and industrial facilities — to operate as a last line of defense before issuing an Energy Emergency Alert Level 3, the most severe grid warning.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has warned that Winter Storm Fern could impact hundreds of millions of Americans, producing some of the harshest winter conditions of the season. A dangerous mix of extreme cold and ice is expected across large portions of the country.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) echoed those concerns, cautioning that the storm could create “significant challenges” for power systems through Monday. Utilities in several states have already activated emergency preparedness plans and urged customers to prepare for possible outages.
Notably, the DOE’s plan relies on facilities that typically operate independently of the grid. Data centers, retail operations, and industrial sites generally maintain backup generators for internal use only and do not feed electricity back into the grid under normal circumstances, making this approach highly unusual.
Supporters of the strategy argue it reflects pragmatic leadership in the face of an emergency. Some data center operators have welcomed the move, saying it could preserve grid capacity for households and critical services. Compass Datacenters, for instance, said enabling its facilities to “island” from the grid and operate on backup generation could reduce strain during peak demand.
Critics, however, have expressed concern over extended reliance on diesel generators, pointing to emissions and technical challenges. Many backup systems are not synchronized for long-term grid support, and public interest groups have raised health and environmental objections, calling instead for broader grid reforms.
The emergency directive also comes as energy supplies are already under pressure. Extreme cold has curtailed crude oil and natural gas production in key regions, including the Permian Basin and Appalachia. At the same time, spot electricity prices have surged in several markets due to rising demand and grid congestion.
DOE officials emphasized that the temporary use of backup power is meant to supplement existing resources — not replace long-term grid maintenance or protections against storm-related infrastructure damage such as downed power lines.