The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has released a report titled “Reliability Guideline: Risk Mitigation for Emerging Large Loads”, addressing growing risks to the bulk power system from rapidly increasing high-demand electricity users such as data centers and industrial computing facilities.
The report highlights that these large loads can cause sudden, second-scale fluctuations in electricity demand, creating instability, oscillations, and operational challenges for grid operators with limited response time. It also raises concerns about long-term impacts on planning, resource adequacy, and transmission system reliability.
To mitigate these risks, the guideline recommends coordinated actions across utilities, grid operators, and large-load customers, including improved system modeling, enhanced real-time monitoring, better interconnection planning, and upgraded protection and control systems. While voluntary, the guidance is intended to support near-term reliability and serve as a foundation for future mandatory standards.
