On July 22, 2026, approximately 3,800 MW of data center load unexpectedly disconnected from PJM’s grid in Northern Virginia following a transmission fault. The facilities transferred to backup generation, creating a sudden imbalance between electricity supply and demand.
PJM and Dominion managed the resulting voltage and frequency disturbances without significant grid reliability impacts. But the event exposed an important distinction for utility planning.
An unplanned protective disconnection is not the same thing as contracted demand response or reliably dispatchable load flexibility. The megawatts may look similar on paper, but their operational consequences are very different.
As large computational loads become a bigger part of the grid, how should planners account for correlated protective disconnections, and what ride-through requirements should these facilities meet?
Full analysis: The Gigawatt That Wasn’t There Yet
https://omnilenscodex.substack.com/p/the-gigawatt-that-wasnt-there-yet?r=5kvk2c&utm_medium=ios