Retain the Right to Curb or Shut Down Energy During Citywide Emergencies

Local governments should institute a binding clause into the energy approval process stating that the city retains the power to curb or temporarily shut down a data center’s energy to prevent disruptions in continuous service for residential, citywide needs in the event of an emergency (e.g., heatwave).

Note: Cities may need to coordinate with utilities or state-run public utility commissions in order to retain this right.

Strong example

A bipartisan coalition of state legislators representing ratepayers across the PJM region (an area covering electricity for all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia) submitted a proposal demanding that data centers joining PJM’s grid will be subject to interruptible service, meaning that PJM can force data centers to stop using electricity during times of peak demand. Tech companies have pushed back.