Obviously, AI data centers can absorb less (power, that is). A recent test in the UK showed that they can change their energy needs dynamically without disrupting critical workloads. This is in contrast to data centers’ current approach to constant-on power draw, which can select the grids and raise the prices for all.

Over five days in December 2025, over 200 simulated “grid events” TESTED the ability of a London data center to adjust its energy use on the fly. The test used software from Emerald AI, which was involved in the study. Other partners include NVIDIA, National Grid, Nebius and the nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute.

In each simulated grid event, the data center successfully adjusts its energy usage to the requested level. This reduces power draw by up to 40 percent, while critical workloads continue to run as normal throughout the test.

The data center successfully reacts to spikes in demand during halftimes of soccer matches. In one case, it reduced its power draw by 10 percent within 10 hours. It was also able to cut its demand quickly: One event saw the data center reduce its load by 30 percent in just 30 seconds.

The study will serve as a blueprint for a 100MW “power-flexible AI factory” NVIDIA plans to operate in Virginia. “This test proves that NVIDIA-powered infrastructure can act as a grid-aware asset, modulating demand in real-time to support stability,” Josh Paker, NVIDIA’s sustainability lead, wrote in a statement. “By making AI workloads responsive, we speed up deployment while reducing the need for costly grid upgrades.”

The organizations involved in the study said they will share their data with the AI ​​industry, regulators and policymakers to try to influence their approach. Fortunately, we should not expect the altruism (ha) of data center operators to lead to their cooperation. Agreeing to restrict usage during peak demand will be good for their balances and lead to faster approvals for new connections to the data center grid. “We want to get to a point where we can get customers on the network in two years, and this is part of that,” Steve Smith, president of National Grid Partners, SPOKE Bloomberg.