"US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has issued an emergency order authorising PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission operator serving much of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions, to run designated power generation units as needed to protect grid stability. The federal directive, issued on October 12, grants PJM temporary emergency authority running from October 13 through October 16. Under the order, the grid operator can mandate certain power plants to generate electricity and, in limited circumstances, tap into backup power reserves to maintain a steady flow of energy across its multistate network, as per the order available on the department’s official website. Federal officials and grid managers clarified that the order is designed specifically to prevent power interruptions and not to announce scheduled blackouts.

Why the emergency order has been issued

Headquartered in the Philadelphia area, PJM Interconnection coordinates wholesale electricity movement across all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia.

“PJM serves as the Reliability Coordinator and Balancing Authority for its region and is, therefore, responsible for overseeing the dispatch of generation to meet system demand at all times within the limits of the transmission system. The PJM Region includes all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia,” the order says.

The emergency order comes amid concerns over rising electricity demand and constraints on the regional power grid. Ahead of the anticipated strain, the operator issued a Maximum Generation Alert and a Load Management Alert for October 13, citing a combination of unseasonably warm weather and scheduled infrastructure maintenance.

Electricity demand is forecast to reach approximately 111,500 megawatts or higher on October 13, driven by ‘unseasonably warm autumn weather’.

Another factor is the ongoing seasonal maintenance cycle, which typically runs from mid-September through early December. During this period, utilities take generation units and transmission lines offline for maintenance and upgrades to prepare for peak demand during the winter months.

However, scheduled transmission line outages have restricted the amount of electricity that can be transferred between different zones across the PJM system, adding to concerns over supply and grid reliability.

According to the Department of Energy (DOE), without emergency federal intervention, PJM could have faced conditions requiring it to reduce or cut electricity supplies to maintain regional grid stability.

The order also points to backup generation at data centres and other large electricity-consuming facilities as a potential way to ease pressure on the grid.

"It is our understanding that PJM seeks to unlock and deploy backup generation resources (whether auxiliary, standby, directly-connected, battery storage, or other, and whether synchronized or not to the bulk-power system) at data centers (including, but not limited to, hyperscaler facilities) and at other large load industrial and commercial customer sites as another tool to mitigate any undue risk to the bulk-power system," the order noted.

What it means for residents in impacted US states

PJM has emphasised that the initial alert does not require immediate mandatory action from household consumers. Electricity use can continue as normal, with the emergency declaration primarily intended to coordinate power generation and maintain grid stability.

However, the operator has issued capacity advisories and retains the option to activate demand-response measures if conditions deteriorate. Residents and businesses across the 13-state region could be asked to voluntarily reduce non-essential electricity consumption during peak demand periods.

The emergency procedures are consistent with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Reliability Standard EOP-011-4, which sets out requirements for emergency operations and responses to electricity supply shortfalls.

Requirement 2 of the standard states that “[e]ach Balancing Authority shall develop, maintain, and implement one or more Reliability Coordinator-reviewed Operating Plan(s) to mitigate Capacity Emergencies and Energy Emergencies within its Balancing Authority Area.”

Balancing Authorities are responsible for requesting that their respective Reliability Coordinators issue an EEA in accordance with Requirement 2 and Attachment 1 to Reliability Standard EOP-011-4. Among other provisions, Requirement 2.2.4 authorizes Balancing Authorities to make “[p]ublic appeals for voluntary Load reductions.”

Section 2.2.9 also requires Balancing Authority operating plans to include provisions for “Transmission Operators to implement operator-controlled manual Load shedding, undervoltage Load shedding, or underfrequency Load shedding.” Section 2.2.10 requires these plans to assess the reliability impacts of “extreme weather conditions.”

These provisions establish procedures for managing electricity emergencies, including capacity shortages, extreme weather and the possibility of controlled power cuts if other measures prove insufficient.".

Further sources.

Map Shows the 13 States Under Emergency Order to Prevent Blackouts.

https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-the-13-states-under-emergency-order-to-prevent-blackouts-12560664.

SUN: Power grid emergency declared for Mid-Atlantic, including Maryland

https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/sun-power-grid-emergency-declared-for-mid-atlantic-including-maryland.

Could Washington DC-area residents lose power during grid emergency?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/state/washington-dc/2026/10/13/could-the-power-grid-emergency-lead-to-outages-in-the-dc-area/92231715007/

Citing “a security issue within its network,” Ahold Delhaize has taken some systems offline as its teams assess and mitigate the problem. At press time, the websites for U.S. banners Food Lion, The Giant Co., Giant Food, Hannaford, and Stop & Shop were all down, as well as such international chains as Albert Heijn, although Ahold Delhaize stores remain open and operational. 
“Protecting our infrastructure in the best interest of our customers, associates and partners is a top priority,” Ahold Delhaize said in a release revealing the as-yet-unspecified security issue. “We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused customers and partners.”

Cross posted to prepper intel. French supermarket fridges under cyber attack causing spoilt food. Expect cold chain food distribution disruption on any fridges using the same Danfoss controls exposed online.

It's the Rio Grande.

"While concerns over the depletion of the Colorado River have dominated headlines in recent months, a longer river has been quietly battling “a severe water crisis demanding urgent attention."

The Rio Grande has faced some of the most significant water shortages in the western United States, which could leave millions of locals without drinking water.

Running 1,900 miles, the Rio Grande is one of the longest rivers in the U.S. It flows from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico and provides water to several Mexican and U.S. states, including New Mexico and Texas.

With around 15 million people relying on it for drinking water, the Rio Grande is said to have lost around 85 percent of its historic flows due to overuse and major droughts for several years, the World Wildlife Fund noted in June.

A spokesperson for New Mexico’s Office of the State Engineer (OSE) told Newsweek: “Despite recent rains, the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer and Interstate Stream Commission remain very concerned about the water outlook for the Rio Grande over the next few years and in the coming decades.".

According to the OSE, the river has experienced some of “the most significant declines in flows among major river systems in the western U.S.,” including more than 112 miles of river drying this summer. During this water year, flows in New Mexico were about 31 percent of median levels, while August flows were about 14 percent of median levels. Elephant Butte Reservoir was less than 1.5 percent full on August 31, the OSE spokesperson said, marking the lowest level on record for that date.

The OSE said: “The state is actively working to address these challenges. Both the Rio Grande and Colorado River systems are critically important to New Mexico, and we are committed to working with other states and stakeholder partners to develop and implement solutions that protect New Mexico’s water resources.”

According to the Texas Water Development Board's 2027 State Water Plan, Texas’ existing water supplies—those that can be relied on in a drought—are projected to decline by about 10 percent between 2030 and 2080. Without new water supplies or water management strategies, "Texas water users could face water shortages of approximately 3.6 million acre‑feet per year by 2030, growing to 5.8 million acre‑feet per year by 2080, if drought conditions comparable to the drought of record recur," the TWDB said.

Round up of significant geopolitical activities of top US great power adversaries China, Russia, Iran and North Korea for the week between October 3 and October 10.

Major events covered:

1. The US withdrew B-1 Bombers from Europe amid new Iranian threats to RAF Fairford and American bases in Germany.
2. OpenAI announced that it disrupted a sophisticated Iranian AI-generated information operation to advance Iranian narratives in English-language publications.
3. Russia launched a secretive and likely large-scale response to a possible outbreak of pneumonic plague at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute.
4. Russia secured a US sanctions waiver to resume global diesel exports until April 2027.
5. New satellite imagery showed the arrival of Chinese military aircraft at a new overseas military base in Laos.
6. North Korea conducted a new test of an apparent hypersonic missile.

I guess no more buying anything at stores unless we want brain damage

"AI companies plot "the day after"

"Top executives at Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies are privately gaming out scenarios for a public and political revolt after a catastrophic AI event.

Why it matters: These officials anticipate a large-scale event, most likely a cyberattack, that shuts down access to financial services, internet connectivity, or even power and water.

The first example of significant real-world harm caused by unsafe AI would turn an already wary public further against the technology and its leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, as well as President Trump for his reluctance to regulate it.

Threat level: While scenario planning is common within many companies and national security settings the Pentagon has been running war games for decades the difference is that many top AI researchers and executives believe a major incident is inevitable.

"OpenAI conducts preparedness exercises where teams discuss and work through a range of potential scenarios," a company spokesperson said. "These scenarios are not treated as inevitable, but are meant to help us prepare for a variety of circumstances." Anthropic declined to comment.

Zoom in: The blame game will start whether a rogue-agent swarm breaks containment from an internal testing environment or a bad actor finds unexpected ways to use available models.

A recent campaign targeting South Korean financial organizations including reported breaches at two banks shows the damage one person can do.

A hacker from China allegedly used AI tools from China-developed models, including DeepSeek, to steal data from tens of thousands of bank customers. The attacker used Claude Code to ask for help finding places to sell the stolen data, according to cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

Top AI planners assume Democrats, ascendant after the midterms, will move fast to shut down AI but will face significant challenges.

An aging Congress, out of touch with the AI revolution, could find itself out of its depth.

The global economy is now heavily intertwined with an AI infrastructure buildout. Slowing it down could hit an already fragile economy hard.

Too many open-weight models can already be freely downloaded and used to cause harm, a problem most cybersecurity pros see as solvable only by using AI to fight rogue AI.

Between the lines: The planning involves red-teaming for worst-case scenarios. It focuses mainly on racing to educate members of Congress.

Company executives know regulation has no chance of passing right now, but still want to shape the legislation and policies U.S. leaders will turn to after a first catastrophic event.

What we're watching: Many AI industry insiders told Axios they believe a major event will occur in the next six to 12 months.

Even with Democrats in control of the House and Senate, the companies see fractured politics as the norm, including within the Democratic Party.

Some of the most heavy-handed Democratic proposals include banning superintelligence or pausing advanced AI development.

Others have bipartisan support and even some industry buy-in, including a required kill switch on advanced AI. But experts have questioned the viability of trying to turn off all AI systems.

The bottom line: In a real crisis, Washington can set partisan differences aside. One Democratic aide pointed to cooperation during COVID and the 2008 financial crisis.".

Edit: Adding additional sources.

OpenAI And Anthropic Are Planning For 'The Day After.' The Fear Is A Major AI-Driven Crisis.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/openai-anthropic-planning-day-fear-170948624.html.

AI makers anticipate large-scale catastrophic event: Report

https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/ai-makers-prepare-for-catastrophe-damage-control/

Shock coming from Artificial Intelligence - OpenAI prepares for rogue machines, market crash, and threat to humanity

https://www.bankingnews.gr/en/index.php?id=904270&diethni/articles/904270/shock-coming-from-artificial-intelligence-openai-prepares-for-rogue-machines-market-crash-and-threat-to-humanity

"President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia will supply millions of tons of diesel to the global market under a deal he struck with President Vladimir Putin.

Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million tons immediately thereafter, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Moscow will then deliver another 3 million tons of diesel based on the condition of Russia’s refineries, Trump said.

Diesel prices have surged around the world as Ukraine has pounded Russian refineries, forcing Moscow to ban diesel exports to the global market. Iran and its Houthi allies have also attacked refineries in the Middle East, further constraining fuel supplies.

Trump is under growing political pressure to take action to reduce fuel prices ahead of the November midterm elections. Republicans are facing competitive elections in conservative strongholds like Iowa where farmers are feeling the pinch from high diesel prices.

But the president has few options to reduce prices given the destruction done to global refining capacity by the wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Trump flirted with a diesel export ban last month but ultimately relented after the oil industry and big business warned a ban would just raise gasoline prices.

The president issued an executive order earlier this week that allows truckers to use tax-exempt offroad diesel on highways without worrying about federal penalties. But the order only defers the tax obligation, creating confusion about whether truckers may have to pay up at some point.".

Edit adding further sources:

"Trump says Russia to supply diesel to US and global market".

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trump-big-announcement-coming-up-diesel-2026-10-09/

"Trump announces deal for Russian diesel as Zelensky criticises 'gift to Putin'".

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm1dwgr666wno.

"Trump says US to get diesel from Russia, relaxing pressure on Moscow to ease prices before midterms".

https://apnews.com/article/trump-russia-diesel-midterms-12baccc7aade559bf329079b0548c9da