Key facts
- Several large data centers and crypto facilities failed reliability tests for the Texas power grid.
- These facilities can abruptly disconnect during voltage disturbances, posing a risk of power outages.
- ERCOT is reviewing test failures and developing plans to protect the grid.
- Since 2023, at least 26 events have occurred where data centers or crypto miners disconnected abruptly.
- ERCOT is tightening interconnection and performance requirements for such facilities.
Several large data centers and crypto facilities planning to connect to the Texas power grid have failed key reliability tests, according to the state grid operator, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). This raises the risk of power outages as electricity use approaches its seasonal high. The rapid expansion of data centers for AI and crypto mining is straining power grids nationwide. Unlike traditional industrial customers, data centers are designed to cut their grid connection at the first sign of trouble to protect equipment, making them unpredictable forces on grids already facing rising demand. ERCOT reported that four groups of unnamed large electricity users, including data centers, abruptly disconnected from the grid during a test of their response to routine voltage disturbances. Such abrupt drops in demand, equivalent to the consumption of a large city like Boston, can destabilize the grid and trigger wider outages. ERCOT reviewed about 20 gigawatts of large customer connections, with eight projects totaling roughly 3.9 gigawatts aiming to start before July 1. Simulations indicated four groups of large power users could each trigger more than 5,000 megawatts of demand tripping under certain fault conditions. ERCOT is reviewing these test failures and developing plans to safeguard the grid. Voltage ride-through failures have become a top priority for ERCOT's board due to the increasing number of data centers and crypto miners connecting. Since 2023, ERCOT has identified at least 26 instances where data centers or crypto mining facilities abruptly disconnected due to electricity flow disturbances. A December 2022 incident involving a failed transformer caused nearly 400 crypto miners, data centers, and oil and gas facilities to unplug without warning, creating a surplus of nearly 1,700 megawatts and forcing 112 megawatts of power generation to shut down. ERCOT and regulators are tightening interconnection and performance requirements, including new rules for facilities to ride through voltage and frequency disturbances without disconnecting.