June 15, 2021

Ireland’s Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) warned in a consultation paper that the country’s data centers are placing a potentially unsustainable strain on the country’s electricity grid and that the nation could face blackouts if the situation is not addressed urgently.

EirGrid, a state-owned electricity transmission operator in Ireland, told CRU that data centers and the demand load they require are having a “major impact on the Irish electricity system currently and into the foreseeable future” and that generators may be needed to meet short-term needs until it upgrades the transmission facilities in Dublin.

To remedy this, the CRU outlines three scenarios, which include standing still and waiting for blackouts, imposing a moratorium on data center connections, and finally requiring EirGrid to require data centers to reduce consumption.

For more information, read the original story in ZDNet.