To avert massive outages, NERC is drafting reliability standards for large data centers. (E&E News)
The issue: AI training workloads can shift demand by hundreds of MWs in seconds—and data centers don’t typically warn grid operators. NERC calls this a “high likelihood, high impact” risk. EEI’s take: Data centers should follow similar engineering standards and protocols as generators and other major operators.
Case in point: In 2024, dozens of Virginia data centers abruptly disconnected at once. The result? A sudden, 1.5-GW demand drop that the grid barely absorbed. Such a shock could trigger cascading outages, NERC says.
A NERC committee launched the drafting process this week, with final approved standards targeted by year’s end. If these get greenlit by FERC, data centers will likely be required to comply.