Data Centres & IT | International Power Quality Discussion Forum

AI Data Centres and Power Quality — A New Category of Grid Disturbance

Denis / 8 May 2026

AI training clusters create a load type that did not exist when power quality standards were written: synchronised GPU operation producing oscillatory load signatures with 10+ MW/second ramps, harmonic THD exceeding 5%, and simultaneous UPS disconnection risk of 2+ GW in dense data centre corridors. A real Dominion Energy grid event was triggered by a data centre producing a voltage sag at precisely once per second. Three open-access papers from 2025–2026 document the scale of the problem and the mitigation approaches now being required by grid operators.

Mirus Intl – Passive vs. Active Harmonic Filter in a Data Center: A Field Comparison

Denis Ruest / 5 May 2026

Passive vs. active harmonic filter comparison at a New Jersey data centre: active filter failed repeatedly at this site, passive Lineator filter installed on the same VFD loads achieved THID below 5% — well within IEEE 519 — and has operated without failure for years. The case presents measured data from both technologies on the same equipment at the same site.

Data Center uses Encore to monitor Demand Response Performance (Dranetz)

Denis / 29 January 2013

A 1.2M sq ft New Jersey data centre participating in a demand response program used backup generators to reduce 7 MW of load. Dranetz Encore Series was installed on four 2.5 MW turbines to provide real-time generator performance monitoring — replacing unreliable utility KYZ pulse metering with direct power measurement.

Data Center Commissioning Case Study (Dranetz)

Denis / 29 January 2013

High-reliability facilities invest heavily in UPS systems and generators — but these mitigation devices themselves can fail without obvious alarms. Dranetz continuous power monitoring evaluates UPS health at commissioning and throughout service life, identifying degrading performance before a failure causes the protected equipment to lose supply.