Reuters is reporting that a massive data center disconnect from the country’s largest power grid rattled nerves and caused a voltage disturbance that stretched from Washington, D.C. to Chicago. PJM, the grid operator, reported more than 3 gigawatts of energy abruptly went offline on Wednesday.
An area transmission line went out of service, forcing Virginia data center operators to disconnect from the system and use their backup power generators. Experts refer to that part of the country as the “epicenter” of the data industry. The grid disturbance briefly created a power hit, with reports of outages and flickering lights for the more than 10 minutes it took to re-gain control. PJM was able to regain normal grid reliance within those 10 minutes. Most power surges can be repaired by PJM within seconds.
PJM is the country’s largest grid operator, with more than 67 million customers across the East and Midwest.
This month’s heat wave forced PJM to increase its peak load estimate to 168 gigawatts, above the previous record set 20 years ago. Heat waves and data center capacity have put a tremendous strain on grid capabilities. Bloomberg has reported that data centers could consume up to 34% of PJM’s power generated by 2030, and they are expected to increase energy use by 4 times by 2035. A 2026 study by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) says the U.S. electricity demand will grow by 55% by 2050, and there is an urgent need to invest in new technologies to meet those demands.
Tagged with data centers, grid, Power Brief