According to a recent study from the Uptime Institute, datacenters are reserving more power capacity than necessary, monopolizing vital grid resources at the expense of other energy consumers. Despite largely consistent power usage in datacenters, operators frequently hold extra capacity anticipating future growth. This practice, however, obstructs other potential users since grid capacity is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

This oversubscription issue is exacerbated as sectors like manufacturing and transportation move towards electrification. Traditional datacenters typically have stable energy demands, but AI facilities, due to fluctuating power needs during training processes, pose additional challenges.

Globally, governments are acknowledging this issue. In the UK, efforts are underway to revamp grid connection processes, removing speculative project requests that never actualize. The U.S. Department of Energy has introduced measures to expedite connection reviews and penalize speculative applications by introducing deposits and withdrawal fees.

As grid pressure intensifies, the report suggests datacenters optimize their reserved power and engage with grid operators for better strategies, including flexible agreements to support congested areas. It emphasizes the need for datacenters to utilize their reserved power more efficiently to support global power grid stability.