Trump administration taps data centres for backup power ahead of snowstorm
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Energy Department is ordering U.S. grid operators to make backup electricity generation from facilities such as data centers available in case of power outages caused by the weekend’s winter storm, its latest extraordinary step to address electricity shortages and high prices.
Electricity providers were told they should tap into available backup power used by manufacturing facilities, retail businesses and data centers, if power demand in their regions nears a level that could potentially lead to a blackout, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in an interview. “We’re going to do everything we can to keep the lights on and to keep power prices down" during the storm, Wright said. He said the Energy Department has been working on the program for several months and it could also be implemented during peak demand periods in the summer.
The energy secretary sent energy reliability coordinators and balancing authorities a letter Thursday telling them that the DOE would make backup power available to address what he calls a “national energy emergency." The measures are taken under a law giving the energy secretary power to take control of electricity generating facilities to meet demand in emergency situations. The move is unusual because data-center operators and businesses generally don’t distribute energy onto the grid. The DOE under Wright has been examining ways it can give data centers the ability to build their own power generation, which he has said could help lower electricity prices.
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