US grid operator PJM proposes forcing data center off the grid during emergencies
XLU•PJM proposes emergency curtailment framework for large users
PJM Interconnection, the biggest U.S. grid operator, proposed on Thursday a new framework that would force data centers to use back-up generators when electricity supply on the grid approaches dangerously low levels.
The grid operator's proposal dovetails with President Donald Trump's Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a non-binding initiative to protect residential customers from getting saddled with costs related to data center power consumption, PJM said.
A new emergency procedure would notify utilities to reduce or transfer the electricity demand from data centers and other large power users ahead of any action that would shut off traditional consumers such as households. PJM said it does not, however, currently have the authority to curtail power to those sites and would require the cooperation of individual state governments.
Capacity shortfall and rising pressure from data-center growth
PJM manages the electricity for 67 million people in a territory that stretches from Washington, D.C. to Chicago.
Its proposal highlights a growing tension between the rapid expansion of data centers and the ability of the nation's power grid to keep up. If PJM cannot close its supply gap, millions of residents and businesses face an increased risk of blackouts, and the cost of new generation could be passed on to other power consumers.
At PJM’s recent capacity auction, power prices hit a price cap of $325 per megawatt-day. Despite the high prices that are meant to incentivize the construction of new power plants, PJM fell short by about 6.8 gigawatts of its reliability requirement to meet projected demand — a shortfall that raises the risk of grid blackouts.
PJM also proposed creating a registry for data centers and other very large energy users that would track the location and electricity use of those operations.
Rapid growth in data centers is becoming a political headache in PJM’s territory, including Virginia, home to the world’s largest collection of data centers. A growing number of residents fear they will be saddled with the rising costs to provide power to data center complexes they view as noisy and intrusive.
