One day before the planned deactivation of two oil and gas-fired power plants near Philadelphia, the facilities were ordered to keep running by the federal Department of Energy.

The emergency order was issued by Energy Secretary Chris Wright on May 30. Just a week before, DOE ordered a 1,560 megawatt coal-fired power plant to keep running in Michigan beyond its planned retirement date.

The language and the authority being used in the Michigan and Pennsylvania cases show the concern federal officials have about the ability of electricity generators, particularly in the PJM Interconnection marketplace of which New Jersey is a part, to meet energy needs this summer.

In both Michigan and Pennsylvania the plants were ordered to run for three months past expected decommissioning, but the dates can be extended if necessary.

At the Eddystone plants near Philadelphia, Baltimore-based Constellation Energy is busy retaining staff and doing maintenance to keep a system running that was literally 24 hours away from closing.

DOE cited authority under the Federal Power Act, which allows the government to order plants to operate during wars and emergencies, for its action. The Pennsylvania generating units have 760 megawatts of capacity. The federal order references an emergency at PJM Interconnection.

DOE says it was in part reacting to a May 9 report from PJM, the grid operator that serves New Jersey and all or parts of 12 other states, that projected potential capacity problems if demand exceeds “normal conditions” this summer.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.