Op-Ed for Immediate Release | August 3, 2026
By Jonathan Fortner, President & CEO, Lignite Energy Council
This July, a brutal heat wave pushed America’s power grids to their limits, and it delivered a clear lesson about what keeps the lights on when demand peaks.
Across the eastern United States, the nation’s largest grid operator, PJM, set an all-time record for electricity demand on July 2 and 3 as temperatures hovered near 97 degrees. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, during the 5 p.m. peak on both days, 82 percent of the region’s available wind generation was unavailable. By sunset, with temperatures still high and air conditioners still running, 99 percent of solar output had gone offline.
Closer to home, the story was much the same. Record demand strained the SPP, which serves parts of North Dakota along with 16 other states. The pressure grew serious enough that the Department of Energy issued an emergency order allowing SPP to call on reserve power plants to avoid rolling blackouts. The parts of North Dakota served by MISO faced the same summer strain, as the grid operator declared a maximum generation emergency and faced near-record demands for power.
Through all of it, North Dakota’s lignite plants did what they always do. They ran. Baseload generation fueled by our state’s lignite coal does not wait for the wind to blow or the sun to rise. It delivers power around the clock, at full output, exactly when families and businesses need it most.
That reliability is no accident. It is the product of an industry, a workforce, and a resource that North Dakota has invested in for decades. As other regions learn the hard way what happens when dependable generation is retired too soon, our state keeps proving the value of keeping these plants online.
Summer heat, winter cold, or record demand, the challenge changes but the need does not. North Dakotans can count on lignite to keep the power flowing, day and night, all year long.
About the Lignite Energy Council
The Lignite Energy Council, the voice for North Dakota’s coal industry, is a regional trade association representing lignite producers, electric utilities, and more than 150 businesses that supply goods and services to the mines and plants. The Council plays a vital role in supporting an industry that generates approximately $5.5 billion in gross business volume annually and contributes $100 million in state and local tax revenues. The lignite industry also facilitates approximately 12,000 direct and indirect jobs across the state, strengthening North Dakota’s economy and energy landscape.