On the dispatch screen of the Hebei North Power Grid during the evening rush hour, the electricity load curves of 11 computing power centers synchronously and smoothly declined, freeing up 100.64 megawatts of power supply space in less than 10 minutes, and successfully completing the first hundred megawatt level coordinated regulation of computing power in China. The data center, which was originally only regarded as a "major electricity user", has for the first time taken the lead in ensuring power supply as a flexible regulator of power grid resources, opening up a new path for ensuring power supply during this summer's record high electricity consumption peak. By 2026, the proportion of total domestic computing power consumption to the total social electricity consumption has exceeded 3.2%, and the regulating potential of computing power clusters is becoming an important incremental resource for the new power system.

100MW level response speed refreshes scheduling record

This collaborative regulation was initiated during the peak electricity demand period in the evening, and 11 computing power centers spontaneously completed dynamic load adjustments. The power supply space released within 10 minutes can simultaneously cover the daily electricity needs of 23000 ordinary residents. According to calculations by the State Grid Jibei Electric Power Control Center, this virtual power plant model of "negative load equals positive power generation" does not require the construction of new physical units and can quickly fill the gap in electricity consumption when it occurs, which is equivalent to adding a flexible start stop peak shaving power plant out of thin air. Previously, the scale of individual projects involving domestic computing power load in power grid regulation was mostly at the 10 MW level. The implementation of the 100 MW level directly raised the industry's response level to a higher level.

Simulation system builds a solid foundation for power grid safety

In response to complex scenarios involving multiple variables such as computing power load, new energy output, and extreme weather, State Grid Jibei Electric Power has deployed a full electromagnetic simulation system to incorporate all influencing factors into a large-scale computing system, forming an intelligent question bank for power grid operation that covers the entire scenario. This system can simulate tens of thousands of extreme operating conditions, predict the safety boundaries of the power grid under different load combinations in advance, and improve the accuracy of scheduling decisions by 40% compared to traditional models, clearing safety barriers for larger scale coordinated regulation of computing and electricity in the future.

From the dynamically adjusted server cluster in the computing power room to the smoothly falling load curve on the grid dispatch screen, this collaborative response in less than 10 minutes is opening up a new value space for the massive computing power resources in China, from "pure electricity" to "adjustable".Editor/Cheng Liting