Virginia's "data center alley" is located in the rural part of the state. There are roughly 40 data centers powering AI development, cryptocurrency mining, and other high-energy-use systems.
More than 20% of the electricity generated in Virginia is for these data centers. And in February 2025, the state barely avoided a disaster.
At that time, a high-voltage power line malfunctioned, causing the data centers to automatically switch to backup power systems. The subsequent drop in demand for electricity across the grid would have severely damaged generators and other equipment, except for the quick action of the grid operator, which saved the state from disaster. That wasn't the only near-disaster in Virginia's "data center alley."
"In July 2024, about 70 data centers withdrew from the grid when another high-voltage line failed, requiring a similar scramble to keep power supply and demand in line," reports the Wall Street Journal.
This is a case of supply and demand needing to be in balance for the system to function. "Both undersupply and oversupply of electricity demand can cause power plants to fail, resulting in blackouts and repair challenges," reports the Journal.
The shutdowns "didn’t cause an emergency, but I would say it caused concern,” said Mike Bryson, PJM’s senior vice president of operations. “What we’re worried about is, what if that happens for 3,000 megawatts or 5,000 megawatts?”
The rapid build-out of data centers runs the risk of too many in one region, straining the already delicate electrical grid. Now, another risk is emerging. Data centers are equipped with sensors that monitor for disturbances on the grid that could cause a critical power outage. When such disturbances occur, the centers sever their links with the grid and shift to backup energy supplies.
Virginia's grid operator, PJM Interconnection, was able to quickly restore grid balance during the two incidents.
Both risks have been most acute within PJM, which operates a power market spanning 13 states from New Jersey to Kentucky. Home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world, PJM has for years been grappling with the prospect of electricity supply shortages as the enormous facilities use more and more power. The prospect of them disappearing unexpectedly causes more headaches for the grid operator.
Mark Christie, former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, last year requested a briefing on the risk of data centers tripping offline at once upon learning it had happened in PJM.
“I thought, ‘Here is another threat to the reliability of the grid that we’ve got to get in front of,’” he said. “As we move into this era of massive load customers, the system is now at risk of being crashed from the load side.”As data centers use more electricity, the risk of serious disruptions resulting from their unexpected disconnection is mounting.
The more demand drops at once, the more difficult it is for a grid operator to take enough supply offline to avert damage to power plants and other infrastructure.
"The North American Electric Reliability Corporation [NERC], a nonprofit tasked with monitoring the reliability of the U.S. power grid, is working with tech companies to figure out how to avoid sudden drops in data-center demand," reports the Journal.
“It’s one of our most important emerging risks,” said Mark Lauby, NERC’s senior vice president and chief engineer. “We’re going to move faster, as fast as we can.”
One of the biggest problems facing the electrical grid in dealing with this crisis is the deliberate and systemic roadblocks put in the way of building new power plants. It's madness. Can you imagine greens telling FDR, "Sorry, Mr. President, but you can't build the power plants you need to win the war because you have to protect the three-toed horned frog"?
"And here are 50,000 pages of documents that must be executed and signed if you want to use oil, natural gas, or coal to power them. If you're interested, here are a million pages if you dare to try constructing a nuclear power plant."
Stalin was wrong. "When we hang the capitalists, they will sell us the rope we use," he supposedly said. He should have said, "When we hang the capitalists, they will fill out their execution forms in triplicate."
