This is a public episode. If you&#x27;d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe<br><br>The North American Electric Reliability Corporation has issued a historic warning about AI data centers. I chat with energy experts Colin McCormick and Doug Bryan about the unique electrical engineering challenges of giant computational loads that can abruptly drop hundreds of megawatts of power in the blink of an eye. We dive into the upcoming regulatory battle between hyperscalers and operators, the sudden rush for firm gas generation, and how software updates and battery storage could eventually make data centers a tool for grid stability instead of a liability.

Why is NERC so worried about data centers?

Volts

# Full Transcript

**Podcast:** Volts

## Participants

- **David Roberts** (None)
- **Colin McCormick** (Carbon Direct)
- **Doug Bryan** (Carbon Direct)

## Transcript

Hello everyone, greetings, this is Volts for June 10th, 2026. Why is NERC so worried about data centers? I am your host, David Roberts. Traditionally, the grid planners and regulators charged with maintaining the reliability of the wholesale power grid concerned themselves with the behavior of generators,

ensuring that power plants do not ramp up too quickly, trip off too suddenly, or create unmanageable frequency or voltage disturbances. Loads, even large industrial loads, were presumed to be relatively safe as they tended to behave quite predictably.

That has changed with the introduction of gargantuan data centers, which can ramp extremely quickly, trip offline very suddenly, or induce oscillations that mess with grid voltage. They are big enough and unpredictable enough to cause problems that can cascade and cause widespread blackouts. Grid regulators are taking notice.

Last month, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC, the non-profit regulatory authority assigned with maintaining the reliability of the U.S. wholesale electricity grid, issued a level 3 warning about data centers, which, in the typically boring regulatory world, amounted to a flashing, blaring siren.

It called out the increasing threats that data centers posed to the grid and issued, alongside the warning, a set of recommendations for grid planners, transmission organizations, and hyperscalers to address those dangers. This amounts to a historic structural shift in how grid reliability is conceived.

For the first time, there are loads, big and powerful and weird enough that they simply must be drawn into the world of grid planning and reliability. It's going to require updating all kinds of regulations and assumptions. And hyperscalers aren't necessarily going to be happy about it.

To discuss the warning, the recommendations, and the many associated implications, I have with me today Colin McCormick and Doug Bryan, respectively the Chief Science Innovation Officer and the Senior Energy Modeling Expert at Carbon Direct, a firm that provides advice and counsel to utilities, tech giants, and investors pursuing clean energy.

We are going to talk about what triggered NERC's fears, what they want the industry to do, and how this might change the pace of data center build-out. With no further ado, Colin McCormick and Doug Bryan, welcome to Volts. Thank you so much for coming. Thank you, David. Pleasure to be here.

Great to be here, David. Thanks. There is so much to chew on here, guys. So maybe, Colin, I'll start with you. There have been big loads on the grid before. There are lots of big industrial loads out there. Think of steel plants, things like that, that draw a lot of power. But there's something new and different about what NERC calls computational loads,

which is, I think, mo...

Why is NERC so worried about data centers?

Transcript

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Why is NERC so worried about data centers?

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

Every day you wait, your competitors are findingedge in conversations you're not hearing.

Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
edge in conversations you're not hearing.