OpenAI launches Grid Protectors Program to cut data center power use during emergencies

The AI company is pledging to throttle electricity use at its own campuses when the grid is under stress, using a Georgia deal as the template OpenAI wants to be the data center developer that steps aside when the power grid gets nervous. The company has pledged to reduce electricity use at the data center campuses it directly develops whenever extreme weather or other emergencies put pressure on the US grid. It is calling the effort the Grid Protectors Program, and the goal is to take commitments already made in Georgia and apply them nationwide. The Georgia blueprint The model for the national program is a planned campus in Effingham County, Georgia, known as Project Camellia. It is a big one. Once fully built, the campus is projected to demand 3.2 GW of power. OpenAI signed a 25-year contract with Georgia Power to supply that 3.2 GW. Delivery is set to arrive in phases between 2028 and 2032, so the full load will not land on the grid all at once. The key clause is flexibility. The contract includes up to 1 GW of flexible demand response, which lets Georgia Power cut back the energy supplied to the campus during high-demand events. Construction on the campus is targeted to begin ...