Data centers strain Florida grid during heatwave, expert says

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) - During a Q2 earnings call, the CEO of Florida Power and Light said a new Florida law meant to protect ratepayers from the costs of data centers would actually give “multi-billion dollar” investors “certainty” and make the Sunshine State more attractive for their projects.

Meanwhile, a former Department of Energy Official is warning data centers are already straining the grid, especially during heatwaves like the one Florida is experiencing right now.

“I think the only other point I would add to this... is number one, having that legislation come in place in May allows for a lot of certainty for these customers that are going to make multibillion-dollar investments in the state of Florida,” said FPL CEO Scott Bores. “So I think that gives us a good foundation to build upon.”

But Kerry Duggan, the founder and CEO of ESP.earth , and a former policy advisor to then Vice President Joe Biden, pointed to a nationwide alert warning of the impacts data centers might have on the grid.

”And so this extreme heat is really exacerbating the other moment we’re in, but we made it to the moon on a new technology. I think this is our moonshot. We have a chance to get it right," Duggan said.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) issued a level three alert this spring, with a response due by some organizations managing our grid by August 3. A level three alert is NERC’s highest level.

“Examples of this load include artificial intelligence training, cryptocurrency mining, and traditional data center uses,” NERC wrote in its alert. “NERC found that entities generally did not have sufficient processes, procedures, or methods to address risks associated with computational loads.”

Duggan says data centers should continue to be built, just as a self contained unit not reliant on the grid.

“I think of old data centers as the Model T. They serve their purpose. I drive a Mach-E, all electric vehicle. I want to put the Mach-E style data centers online,” Duggan said.

Online publication Seeking Rents was the first to report news of the FPL earnings call, and also reported Tampa Electric Co hailed the signature of Senate Bill 484.

According to a Florida Senate analysis of Bill 484, local governments retain authority to exercise planning and zoning over “large-scale data centers.” The bill took effect on July 1, 2026.

By 2030, data centers are expected to account for up to 12% of energy usage nationwide, though they only account for about 4% right now. For example, the Senate analysis found a large 650 megawatt facility “would be the equivalent of 500,000 homes,” or roughly the same number of homes as Orange County.

“Thus the growth of data centers in an area can lead to considerable strain on local electric grids—especially with the considerable mismatch between the speed with which data centers can be constructed and the ability to get approval for and build new generation capacity and interconnect that generation into the electric transmission grid,” the Senate analysis reads.

The new law is meant to ensure the Public Service Commission develop requirements that “(data centers) pay for their own cost of service and the PSC must establish a financial protection framework...”

But University of California Riverside Professor Shaolei Ren told the Associated Press that a heat wave is “almost the worst situation for data center operations.”

That’s because a data center must be kept cool, either by refrigeration based cooling which is electricity intense, or evaporative cooling which is water intensive.

In other states, during a heatwave earlier this month, the Department of Energy permitted power companies to keep the power on at data centers using diesel generators because “an imminent electric reliability emergency” existed.

“They are highly motivated to get these things done. So if your local elected official, I know that there’s moratoriums going up everywhere. If they can use the time, whatever they’ve set for the moratorium to really get together with the community and talk about what could we ask for?” said Duggan.