Shafaqna English- Experts and PJM, the operator of the largest U.S. power grid, reported that a massive amount of power demand from data centers was unexpectedly disconnected on Wednesday(22 Jul 2026). The event produced a voltage anomaly that rippled across the eastern United States, with effects observed as far west as Chicago and as far south as the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Northern Virginia, which contains the highest density of data centers globally, was the epicenter of the disturbance. Dominion Energy, the utility serving that area, explained in a public statement that when a transmission line in the region went down early Wednesday, the data centers’ internal control mechanisms responded by disconnecting from the wider grid and activating their backup power systems.