Washington State’s Grant PUD plans to impose load-growth limits for data centers, Grant PUD said in late March.
PUD staff members will communicate to each data center customer how many more megawatts they have left to grow before they reach their assigned limit.
Grant PUD noted that its data center customers have been rapidly growing their power loads over the past year and are communicating their intentions to continue growth at an accelerated pace.
This rate of growth could soon increase the risk of outages and voltage instability on the local power grid, Grant PUD staff told PUD commissioners during a recent meeting.
The utility’s plan to impose load-growth limits for data centers is aimed at addressing the potential reliability risk.
Load-growth limits could extend to other industrial-rate customers signaling growth at a rate that puts a risk to grid safety and reliability. They will not apply to Grant PUD’s commercial, agricultural and residential customers.
The limits will be raised when ongoing projects to upgrade substations and increase transmission capacity allow Grant PUD’s electric system to safely handle the increased volume of energy demand.
Load-growth limits are not unique to Grant County, Wash., the PUD noted.
Utilities across the United States are grappling with the same concerns as power-intensive artificial intelligence services housed in data centers are placing increased pressure on power systems that are close to capacity.
