Rather than a utility shedding load, Dominion Energy says the data centers’ own protection systems initiated the transfer. Related:Virginia Approves First-Ever Data Center Power Tax“Because of this normal system operation, data centers elected to transfer load off the system,” Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton said. The warning was never elevated to an emergency action, and no customer-owned generators were dispatched, Data Center Knowledge previously reported. Wednesday’s event suggests they must also prepare for the sudden loss – and eventual return – of gigawatts of concentrated data center load. Reuters reported that roughly 1.5 GW of data center load disconnected during a Northern Virginia disturbance in 2024.