Heat wave, data centers’ huge demand push regional power grid to the brink

The soaring temperatures pushed the Mid-Atlantic’s electrical grid to the brink on Thursday, when it was feared that air-conditioning units across 13 states – combined with data centers’ unprecedented demand for electricity – might max out the regional power supply.

That could have required grid operator PJM to cut power to at least some of the region’s hundreds of data centers, forcing them to rely on their air-polluting diesel generators to keep the computer servers that operate the internet up and running.

But it didn’t happen. Even though PJM’s emergency procedures dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree all day on Thursday, July 2 – with more than 40 ominous-sounding alerts and warnings – data centers were never ordered to disconnect from the grid. 

Read more at Prince William Times