The US’ largest grid operator, PJM Interconnection, saw a large proportion of data center load abruptly disconnect from its grid on Wednesday (22 July), causing a voltage disturbance felt from Washington, DC, to Chicago.. – Getty Images. According to reporting from Reuters, the disruption originated in northern Virginia, which is home to the highest concentration of data centers globally.
Reports indicate that a regional transmission line went out of operation on the morning of June 22, prompting data centers in the area to disconnect their own systems from the grid and switch to backup power, according to Dominion Energy, the utility serving the region.. “Within minutes of the incident occurring, our system operations team was able to stabilize the situation and return to normal operating conditions,” Dominion said in a statement.. The incident adds to pressure on federal and state regulators, who are already examining ways to manage sudden swings in demand from data centers and crypto mining operations that can strain grid stability..
Usually, grid disturbances can be resolved in a matter of seconds; however, on this occasion, it took approximately ten minutes for the grid to stabilize. In total, PJM reported that more than 3GW of power was rendered offline, which accounts for approximately three percent of the grid’s total demand at the time, according to PJM operations data..
The operator said it registered the sudden drop in demand along with a shift in grid frequency, a measure of the balance between electricity supply and demand, but reported no impact on overall grid reliability.. According to recent reports, PJM is facing an unprecedented power shortfall over the next decade due to data center demand.
Reports suggested that the RTO could face a power supply shortfall of up to 60GW.. More in North America. 27 Mar 2026.
24 Feb 2026. More in Grid Level. 30 Jan 2026
