A recent incident in Data Center Alley, a region outside Washington DC housing over 200 data centres, exposed a new vulnerability in the US power grid.

Last summer, 60 data centres unexpectedly disconnected from the grid and switched to on-site generators, causing a surge in excess electricity. However, this triggered the need for grid operators to scale back power output to avoid cascading outages.

The disconnection event, caused by a failed surge protector, forced regulators to address the growing risk of power imbalances due to the rapid expansion of data centres, especially those involved in AI and crypto mining.

As these centres consume increasing amounts of energy, grid operators face new challenges in maintaining stability.

Federal regulators like the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) are now studying the impact of such events and the risks posed by unannounced data centre disconnections.

The power consumption of data centres has tripled over the last decade and is projected to continue rising, prompting calls for updated reliability standards.

Industry stakeholders, including major tech companies, have expressed concerns about the potential costs and risks of requiring data centres to remain connected during voltage fluctuations.

With the growing presence of large data users, grid operators face a tough balancing act to ensure power stability while accommodating the demands of the data centre industry.