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OpenAI said on Monday it will reduce electricity use at the US campuses it develops itself during extreme weather and other grid emergencies, and will extend what it calls a Grid Protectors Program from its planned campus in Effingham County, Georgia, to all of them.
In Georgia it has already pledged to cut demand by up to 1 when the grid needs relief, about the use of 700,000 homes.
How much, how fast and for how long will be set campus by campus with utilities.
John McCarrick, OpenAI's head of energy policy, told Axios that a year ago a large was still defending "five nines," 99.999% uptime, and that he does not think anyone is now. Data center opposition is on Tuesday's ballot in several states, and a Senate permitting bill would let states require exactly this flexibility as a condition of grid service.
OpenAI will cut power at its US data centers when the grid is in trouble
OpenAI said on Monday it will reduce electricity use at the US campuses it develops itself during extreme weather and other grid emergencies, and will extend what it calls a Grid Protectors Program from its planned campus in Effingham County, Georgia, to all of them. In Georgia it has already pledged to cut demand by up to 1 gigawatt when the grid needs relief, about the use of 700,000 homes. How much, how fast and for how long will be set campus by campus with utilities.
John McCarrick, OpenAI's head of energy policy, told Axios that a year ago a large hyperscaler was still defending "five nines," 99.999% uptime, and that he does not think anyone is now. Data center opposition is on Tuesday's ballot in several states, and a Senate permitting bill would let states require exactly this flexibility as a condition of grid service. SourcesB
Sources
This story ran in the Morning Brief of November 2nd 2026.