Indiana Michigan Power and Google on Monday announced an agreement in which the tech giant will reduce activity at the data center it’s planning near Fort Wayne during peak power demand times.
The agreement could be of interest to people concerned about how Amazon’s data center in St. Joseph County will affect the area.
The electric company and Google last week filed the agreement with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, which still must approve it. Through what’s called a demand response structure, Google agrees to carry out only non-urgent tasks during peak demand times when the electric grid is under less stress.
The idea is for Google to reduce I&M’s peak load in times of high energy demand, similar to
programs currently available to residential and commercial or industrial customers during peak times like afternoons and early evenings during the summer.
I&M spokeswoman Steffany Smith said she couldn’t comment on negotiations with Amazon or Microsoft, which plans a data center in Granger, but she indicated the utility could seek similar agreements with them.
“I think what’s important about this agreement is that it is the first of its kind that we’re aware of, and so we do believe that it might set a precedent for future conversations with other large load centers, both within the I&M territory and for other utilities across the country," Smith says.
