Datacenters are hoarding grid power just in case, says Uptime Institute
- Reference: 1765201820
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/12/08/uptime_institute_datacenter_grid/
- Source link:
The advisory body found that datacenter power use remains largely constant, with major demand changes typically coming from business expansion. Operators routinely reserve excess capacity for potential future growth, blocking other users from that allocation even though it sits unused.
The problem stems from how grids operate: Grid operators can't expand networks without lengthy regulatory approval, and capacity is allocated strictly on a first come first served basis. This prompts developers to reserve power for projects that may never be built, while datacenter operators apply for more than they need to accommodate future growth and planning uncertainty.
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The issue intensifies as manufacturing and transportation electrify. AI datacenters compound the problem differently, as unlike traditional facilities with steady loads, AI training creates frequent, [2]significant power fluctuations .
[3]
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Governments are taking notice and the some, such as the UK and US, are keen to promote new datacenter builds in order to serve the burgeoning demand for AI training and deployment.
In the UK, the government last month [5]delivered a package of reforms under the heading of "Delivering AI Growth Zones". These include measures to remove speculative requests in the grid connection queue - applications related to building projects that never got off the ground but weren't cancelled.
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The government confirmed last week that household energy bills will rise to help fund expansion of the grid, including an extra £108 ($144) in network charges on bills by 2031.
[7]Capacity planning a rising concern for datacenter operators as AI grows
[8]Wanted: A handy metric for gauging if GPUs are being used optimally
[9]Human error and power glitches to blame for most outages
[10]AI datacenters putting zero emissions promises out of reach
In the US, the Secretary of Energy [11]ordered rules to limit the time taken to review connection decisions to 60 days, and to deter speculative projects by imposing deposits and withdrawal penalties on applications. The new rules gives priority to applicants that agree for their energy load to be curtailable, meaning it can be reduced or temporarily shut off if it is necessary to stabilize the grid.
Uptime notes flexible connection agreements can accelerate access if users accept demand control during stress periods and meet technical requirements, like real-time monitoring by the grid operator.
The report also warns that datacenters can lose 10 percent or more of their uninterruptible power supply (UPS) capacity because of stranded power: electrical infrastructure that has been built but is not actually being used by the IT equipment or its supporting infrastructure.
Uptime concludes that with increasing stress on power grids globally, datacenter firms should aim to make efficient use of the grid power they have reserved.
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It recommends datacenter firms engage grid operators to minimize stress, and consider flexible agreements to expedite access in congested areas. ®
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aTcEJjnNocGx8l5NdhfvmAAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/22/microsoft_nvidia_openai_power_grid/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aTcEJjnNocGx8l5NdhfvmAAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aTcEJjnNocGx8l5NdhfvmAAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/18/uk_ai_growth_zones/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aTcEJjnNocGx8l5NdhfvmAAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/03/capacity_planning_concern_datacenter_ops/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/20/gpu_metric/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/07/human_error_a_factor_in/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/16/ai_datacenters_putting_zero_emissions/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/24/doe_datacenter_grid_connection/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aTcEJjnNocGx8l5NdhfvmAAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Hmm
codejunky> This should make 'green energy' supporters of unreliables happy.
Why would the eco lot be happy about unreliables like gas that almost brought down the UK power grid ?!
Re: Hmm
@AC
"Why would the eco lot be happy about unreliables like gas that almost brought down the UK power grid ?!"
Because the unreliables (wind and solar) rely on gas. In your poor example it took 2 separate failures to cause a problem for the gas power plant. Wind and solar are unreliable as the wind and sun.
Re: Hmm
So your example, of 2 gas-fired electricity generating plants failing almost simultaneously (and almost at a critical time) shows how these unreliable gas plants should be better managed and maintained to make them less unreliable. It's an excellent point to make and one everyone can get behind. Kudos to you for highlighting it
Re: Hmm
@AC
"So your example,"
Your example. Dont get confused. You are the troll who follows me around getting this wrong, I am again explaining to you how you are wrong but doubting you will get it.
"shows how these unreliable gas plants should be better managed and maintained to make them less unreliable"
The gas plants you are talking about, are they run as a normal gas plant providing stable power or are they ones that have to keep ramping up and down to compensate for the unreliable wind and solar? I dont know the answer but the latter method of running a gas plant does cause more wear on the components.
"It's an excellent point to make and one everyone can get behind. Kudos to you for highlighting it"
Coward proves why they post as coward. If you had a thought you would have a migraine.
Re: Hmm
Was it not you, or someone posting as "codejunky", who first pointed to the "Unherd" piece that highlighted these gas plant failures ( or "unreliables" as the term you coined) and the narrowly averted UK grid catastrophe they nearly caused? Good work on your part. Hope to see more of this from you in the future. Very balanced and insightful.
(Have an upvote for your valued contribution in this instance.)
Re: Hmm
@AC
"Was it not you, or someone posting as "codejunky", who first pointed to the "Unherd" piece that highlighted these gas plant failures"
Guessing if you dont remember it might explain some of the stuff you spout.
Re: Hmm
[1]This was you wasn't it?
[1] https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2025/08/09/smart_meter_policy/#c_5123577
How the UK system works
Since a certain commentard has derailed the debate with divisive dribblings, I thought I'd try and post something on topic: For those with time on their hands, here's [1]28 pages of PDF reading as to how National Grid operate the capacity reservation system. A quck scan will give your most of what you need to know.
Arguably the problem is not "how grids operate", but simply that a capacity reservation can be made and retained without any meaningful financial commitment from the applicant. The commitment needs to ensure that people don't (a) make speculative applications in the first place, and (b) don't then sit on the reserved capacity when the original project gets canned, and (c) there's a substantial charge for reserving capacity that doesn't get taken up. There is currently a fee of £120k simply to make a reservation application although with the prospect of being returned if the project gets canned before substantive works are undertaken. Back in the days of real industry and real money that £120k was probably seen as deterrent enough, but in these inflationary days of cash-rich hyperscalers and DC builders that sort of money is simply small change, we need to be talking millions.
[1] https://www.nationalgrid.com/sites/default/files/documents/39678-PARCA%20Customer%20Guidance.pdf
Re: How the UK system works
£120k is peanuts when they're filling racks with GPUs and DDR5 RAM...
But yeah, that system encourages over-requesting just in case.
Hmm
"Uptime notes that energy grid operators cannot expand their networks at will because new infrastructure has to be approved by regulators first as part of a development plan, and this takes a lot of time and effort."
So no thoughts on speeding up the pipeline? If people reserve more because of the slow and difficult process then cleaning up the process would reduce the demand surely?
"The government also announced last week that household energy bills will rise to help fund expansion of the grid, which will see an extra £108 ($144) in network charges on bills by 2031."
This should make 'green energy' supporters of unreliables happy. This is another necessary cost on top of all the costs and subsidies to prop up the windfarm/solar projects on the grid.