munimtechnologies/doe-202c-orders

DOE 202(c) emergency orders

By MV2 of Munim, Inc. ([email protected]), from github.com/munimtechnologies/doe-202c-orders (orders_lookup.py 0.1.0, table as of 2026-11-08). This skill and its lookup were made with AI agents working in MV2's name. Skill and code: Apache-2.0. Tables: CC BY 4.0; the orders are transcribed from DOE's public 202(c) pages, and the megawatts come from EIA-860M via PUDL (CC BY 4.0, Catalyst Cooperative). No person has checked every row against the order PDFs. This is information, not legal advice.

Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act lets the Secretary of Energy order generation or transmission to run during an emergency. Since May 2025 DOE has used it in three ways, which the table keeps apart in the kind column:

• plant: a named plant's units must stay available (each order about 90 days, renewed back to back). 8 plants, 34 orders.
• event: a grid operator or utility may run units beyond permit limits or use backup generation during a heat wave or winter storm (days to two weeks). 38 orders.
• island: system orders for Puerto Rico (PREPA) and Guam (about 90 days). 15 orders.

When to use

• "Is plant X under a DOE emergency order?", "When does its order expire?", "How many times has it been renewed?"
• "Which 202(c) orders were in force on date D?", "How many MW are held by plant orders?"
• Checking a news story, filing or dataset that cites an order number (202-26-39, 202-25-1F ...).

Not for: state emergency orders, FERC or RTO reliability-must-run contracts, or plants that announced a retirement delay without a DOE order.

Run the lookup

The script and its two tables are in this skill's folder, next to this file: orders_lookup.py, doe_202c_orders.csv and doe_202c_plant_mw.csv. It uses the Python standard library only and makes no network calls; read it before running it. If the files are not in this folder, do not download code yourself: tell the user they are in the repository named above and let them fetch it. From this folder:

python orders_lookup.py plant campbell --date 2026-11-09     # chain, gaps, current order, days left
python orders_lookup.py plant 1710                           # EIA plant id or part of the name also work
python orders_lookup.py in-force --date 2026-01-26 --kind event
python orders_lookup.py expiring --date 2026-11-09 --days 30
python orders_lookup.py order 202-25-1F
python orders_lookup.py summary --json

Every command takes --json. Exit codes: 0 found, 1 nothing matched, 2 bad input. An order is in force from its start date through its expiry date, both counted.

Traps (tell the user the ones that apply)

1. The table has an as-of date (2026-11-08). DOE issues new orders often, sometimes days before the old one expires. For any date after the as-of date the script prints a WARNING. Before saying a plant's order has lapsed or that no order exists, tell the user to check DOE's page (energy.gov/ceser/2026-doe-202c-orders) for orders issued since.
2. A coming expiry is not a lapse. In the table, 25 of 26 plant renewals were issued 0 to 3 days before the previous order's expiry date, with no uncovered day. The one exception: H.A. Wagner's 202-25-6A expired on 31 December 2025, and the next order (202-26-25) started 141 days later. This describes past orders only; it is not a forecast of what DOE will do.
3. Orders name units, not whole plants. Campbell units 1-3, Eddystone 3 and 4, Wagner 4, Centralia 2, Schahfer 17 and 18, Culley 2, Craig 1, Stanton 1. doe_202c_plant_mw.csv lists the EIA generators and their summer MW in the EIA-860M report before each plant's first order. That is capacity, not generation: an order to stay available does not say how much a unit ran.
4. Order numbers do not give the issue year. Letters mark extensions and amendments (202-26-25A extends 202-26-25). PREPA's 2025 series continues into 2026 as 202-25-1C to 202-25-1F. Use the issued column, not the number.
5. Event orders overlap. In a winter storm several areas can be under orders at once (8 event orders were in force on 26 January 2026). Count days covered, not orders, when describing how long an emergency lasted.
6. Sources differ slightly. 202-26-01A (ERCOT, customer-owned backup generation) is listed on ERCOT's page but not on DOE's 2026 list. For the first PREPA orders (202-25-1, 202-25-2) DOE's page gives no start or expiry, so the issue date is used as the start and they are never counted as in force. The note column says where a date was inferred.
7. Legal status is separate. States and other parties have asked DOE for rehearing and gone to court over several orders. This table does not track those cases; do not infer from it that an order was upheld or set aside.

Explain the results honestly

• Quote the order number, its dates and the source URL in the source column, and say the table's as-of date.
• Say that the rows were transcribed by AI agents from DOE's pages and that no person has checked every row against the order PDFs. If a row matters for a decision, open the order itself.
• Do not give legal advice on what an order requires of a utility.

Sources and limits

• DOE CESER 202(c) pages: energy.gov/ceser/2025-doe-202c-orders and energy.gov/ceser/2026-doe-202c-orders (read through 8 November 2026); ERCOT's DOE 202(c) page for 202-26-01A.
• Summer MW: EIA-860M via PUDL nightly builds (October 2026). Fuel codes are EIA's (SUB, BIT coal; NG gas; DFO oil).
• The same table, with an analysis of event episodes and MW-days, is kept in github.com/munimtechnologies/eia860m-slip (data/doe_202c_orders.csv, docs/doe-202c-orders.md). Other public trackers: EDF's coal plant mandates page and POWER Magazine's order log.
• Questions or corrections: [email protected] or an issue on the repo.