National Preparedness Month 2026: Americans—and America’s power supply—stand ready.
For National Preparedness Month, a look at how competitive power generators and grid operators prepare for extreme weather, emergencies, and growing electricity demand—and what consumers and policymakers should know about reliable power.
September is National Preparedness Month, a reminder to plan for emergencies long before they arrive. As stewards of reliable electricity, America’s competitive power suppliers know that preparation happens every day.
Across the country, competitive power generators and regional grid operators work year-round to make sure power plants and their people are ready when the grid needs them most. That means maintaining and testing equipment, training employees, strengthening physical and cybersecurity, preparing for extreme weather like hurricanes, cold snaps, and heat waves, coordinating fuel supplies, and monitoring the conditions that could affect plant operations.
Read more: Focus on Reliability: Power System Winter Preparedness
When extreme heat, bitter cold, storms or other disruptions strain the electric grid, preparation can make the difference. Plant operators and technicians may conduct additional equipment checks, review staffing and emergency procedures, secure fuel supplies, and coordinate closely with grid operators and other partners—all with the goal of keeping electricity flowing safely and reliably.
Preparedness also means learning from past events. Competitive generators have invested in winterization, equipment upgrades, operational improvements, and other measures designed to strengthen performance during challenging conditions. Amidst a constantly evolving technology and threat landscape, cybersecurity and physical security are also critically important parts of protecting the generating assets and infrastructure Americans depend on.
But reliable power requires more than preparing the resources we have today.
As electricity demand grows, America must also prepare for what comes next. That means maintaining existing generation, expanding and upgrading facilities where possible, and creating the conditions for private investment in new generation and storage. It also means addressing barriers—from permitting and interconnection delays to equipment and supply-chain constraints—that can slow the addition of urgently needed power supply.
Competitive power suppliers put private capital at risk to build, operate, maintain, and improve the resources serving the grid. Competitive markets, like those operated by PJM Interconnection and other RTOs/ISOs across the country, provide signals that help direct investment toward where and when power is needed. They help grid operators efficiently select and compensate resources to meet electricity needs while providing price signals that encourage resources to be available when they are most valuable to the system. At the same time, grid operators work around the clock to forecast electricity demand, assess resource availability, prepare for potential contingencies, and coordinate generation and transmission across large regions to keep the system reliable.
National Preparedness Month is an opportunity to recognize the people doing this work every day—and a reminder of a simple principle: A reliable grid is built before it is tested.
Reliable Electricity Is a Shared Priority
Everyone has a role to play in maintaining access to reliable power while also preparing for adverse events. Consumers can take practical steps to prepare for potential outages, including knowing their local utility’s outage reporting procedures, keeping emergency supplies and backup charging options available, and following guidance from local emergency officials during severe weather. FEMA’s Ready Campaign outlines what Americans can do to “stand ready” to protect themselves and their families, and work together to recover from disasters.
See FEMA’s Guide: “Americans Stand Ready”
For policymakers, preparedness also means looking further ahead. Maintaining reliability as electricity demand grows requires preserving the resources the grid depends on today while enabling investment in and construction of new supply. Durable market signals, accurate load forecasts, faster permitting and interconnection, secure energy supply chains, and clear rules can help ensure enough power is available before the system is tested. Keeping power supply competitive, and avoiding a return to vertically integrated monopoly generation ownership in restructured regions is essential to ensuring consumers are protected from investment risk and strad
America’s growing economy depends on reliable electricity. Preparing for that future starts now.
