A July 22 fault on a Dominion Energy transmission line in Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley triggered a massive regional power shift. Local data centers automatically disconnected from the grid to protect internal systems, switching immediately to backup power.
This transition caused more than 3 gigawatts of electricity demand to vanish from the grid within seconds. The sudden load drop represented approximately 3% of total grid demand at the time of the incident.
A resulting voltage disturbance rippled across the power network from Washington, D.C., to Chicago. Grid operator PJM Interconnection stabilized the system within 10 minutes to prevent cascading outages.
The scale of this disconnection was double that of a similar event recorded earlier in 2024. The incident highlights the increasing strain that rapid AI infrastructure growth places on national power stability.