IT-Driven Power Grid Demand Response for Datacenters

In a power grid, supply and demand must always be balanced. The traditional approach is to ensure enough supply margins and redundancy to meet demand peaks. This approach is not always feasible in a physically or fiscally constrained environment, or when a system malfunction ("contingency" in power systems parlance) triggers a power deficit. A demand-response mechanism integrates demand management into power scheduling processes. IT will play a crucial role in these processes and lead the industry in the coordinated, economical operation of datacenters by taking advantage of instrumentation already present.