Data centers told to pitch in as storms and cold weather boost power demand

The government directed data centers to turn on backup generation in parts of the US. Expanding distributed generation could improve grid resilience.

By: Nikki Luke, University of Tennessee and Conor Harrison, University of South Carolina, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: February 3, 2026

Words: 1,296

Last Updated: 2 weeks ago

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By Nikki Luke, University of Tennessee and Conor Harrison, University of South Carolina

As Winter Storm Fern swept across the United States in late January 2026, bringing ice, snow and freezing temperatures, it left more than a million people without power, mostly in the Southeast.

Scrambling to meet higher than average demand, PJM, the nonprofit company that operates the grid serving much of the mid-Atlantic U.S., asked for federal permission to generate …

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