ICYMI…on Wednesday, a transmission line fault in Northern VA’s “Data Center Alley” triggered over 3 GW of load to suddenly disconnect from the grid. This massive drop occurred as data centers automatically shifted to backup power.
It could’ve been worse: It took around 10 minutes for Dominion to stabilize the grid, far longer than the typical millisecond-scale response time. But residents reported only minor problems. This means automatic systems (plus grid operator responses) likely kept things in check.
“The system, as far as we know, and as far as we've seen, responded incredibly well,” Kyle Thomas, VP of engineering and compliance services at Elevate Energy, told Energy Central. “That’s the really good side of this.”
Yes, but: The industry lacks good models and data to grasp when and where these events could occur next, Thomas said. These could inform more tools and practices to mitigate them.
To get ahead of future data center disconnections, NERC is developing a large-loads action plan and new reliability standards. Plus, CAISO and ERCOT are getting proactive with ride-through rules that require data centers to stay online in outages.
The takeaway? New rules aren’t enough—data center operators must collaborate with grid pros to adapt (or upgrade) their equipment to “meet the requirements of the grid,” Thomas told us.
BTW: Rising PJM capacity prices could hurt utilities’ credit ratings as ratepayer concerns compound, according to rating agency Moody’s.