The Energy Department told Fox News Digital that emergency orders and a rollback of certain Biden-era retirement plans for fossil-fuel plants helped keep the electric grid stable during a major snowstorm. Secretary Chris Wright authorized temporary flexibilities that preserved about 17 GW of coal capacity and mobilized more than 35 GW of backup generation. DOE officials said wind and solar output fell during peak demand while coal, natural gas and oil supplied the majority of power, averting widespread blackouts.
Energy Dept.: Emergency Orders and Reversed Climate Rules Helped Keep Grid Online During Major Snowstorm
A man shovels snow amid the massive snowstorm this week.(Getty Images)
The Energy Department told Fox News Digital that emergency actions and a shift away from some Biden-era climate measures helped prevent widespread blackouts during a severe weekend snowstorm. Officials said the department issued emergency orders and authorized additional fossil-fuel generation that provided a crucial reliability buffer as states from Alabama to Vermont were hit with heavy snow and plunging temperatures.
What Officials Say
In exclusive comments, department officials said Secretary Chris Wright issued a series of emergency orders from the weekend through Tuesday that temporarily relaxed certain EPA limits and allowed selected plants to operate beyond previous regulatory ceilings. A department source told Fox News Digital that five coal-fired plants scheduled for closure under earlier policies were kept online, and roughly 17 gigawatts of coal capacity were preserved from forced shutdown.
Emergency Capacity Mobilized
As the storm approached, the Energy Department told grid operators to prepare to call on more than 35 gigawatts of otherwise unused backup generation nationwide. The department said that additional capacity could come from a variety of sources, including backup generators at data centers and large retail facilities, and was enabled by emergency directives intended to bypass prior environmental constraints when necessary to protect reliability.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright talks during the 6th Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation in Athens, Greece, on Nov. 7, 2025.
“How power sources perform during peak electricity demand reveal their true value,” Energy Department press secretary Ben Dietderich told Fox News Digital, noting that natural gas, coal and oil supplied the bulk of electricity during the event while wind and solar output fell sharply.
Power Mix During The Storm
According to figures cited by the department, wind and solar accounted for about 10% of the energy used across the storm’s path, while hydrocarbons and coal supplied approximately 68% of demand. The department also said U.S. coal generation provided enough electricity to serve roughly 30 million homes along the storm route. In New England, the department reported nearly two-thirds of generation during the event came from hydrocarbon or coal-fired sources.
Context and Reactions
DOE officials warned that relying solely on variable renewables without sufficient dispatchable resources could increase blackout risks in extreme weather, and quoted department data saying prior plans to retire reliable gas and coal capacity had left the grid more vulnerable. The department framed the emergency measures as necessary to protect public safety and avoid costly outages.
Fox News Digital reached out to representatives of President Biden for comment. The Energy Department’s account attributes the decisions to the current administration’s energy and reliability priorities and describes the emergency orders as a temporary, safety-driven response to an exceptional weather event.
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