OpenAI承诺，在美国由其直接投建的数据中心园区，当极端天气或其他紧急情况造成电网承压时，将主动降低用电量。正当AI算力中心的高耗电问题引发公众与政界反对、拖累行业扩张计划之际，OpenAI正推进自建数据中心。
新闻背景：这项名为“电网守护者计划（Grid Protectors Program）”，打算把佐治亚州埃芬厄姆县拟建数据中心园区已作出的承诺推广至全美。
在该项目上，OpenAI承诺电网需要减负时，最多可削减1吉瓦用电负荷，大致相当于70万户家庭的用电量。
OpenAI将于今日晚些时候在博客中表示：“我们的目标是，把这类负荷调节能力，作为未来数据中心园区建设与运营的核心组成部分。”
博文写道：“这意味着……我们将和电力公司协商确定可削减的负荷规模、响应速度以及持续时长。”
不同园区的具体方案各不相同，细节敲定后另行公布。
相关表态：OpenAI能源政策负责人约翰·麦卡里克称，该举措反映出行业思路、技术的转变，以及吸纳社区反馈后的调整。
他表示：“大约一年前，我和另一家大型云厂商开会，对方还在死守五个九的可靠性标准，但现在没人再坚持这一点了。”“五个九”指数据中心必须实现99.999%的持续在线。
包括OpenAI在内的AI及科技巨头已陆续作出承诺，做电网友好型用户，避免推高普通用电居民的电费。
OpenAI将周一的这项公告定位为：从愿景式承诺，落地为一套可实操的运营规则。
OpenAI同时提出，数据中心其实能够惠及普通电力用户。
博文称，AI稳定的用电需求可以摊薄电网基建成本；而本次承诺的负荷弹性调节能力，能够在用电高峰削峰。
后续观察方向：政策制定者已从多个方面推动数据中心具备用电弹性。
美国联邦能源监管委员会（FERC）要求电网运营方对大客户并网流程作出说明或改革，相关条款就鼓励这类弹性调节。
参议院的许可法案更是明确允许各州将“高峰时段限电”作为数据中心接入电网的前置条件。
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Open AI is committed to actively reducing electricity use when extreme weather or other emergencies cause grid pressure when the data centre campus in the United States is directly built by it. At a time when the high power consumption at the AI Calculus has provoked public and political opposition and has slowed down industrial expansion plans, Open AI is moving forward with its own data centre.
Press background: This project, entitled “Grid Products Programme”, is intended to extend to the United States the commitments already made in the proposed data centre campus in Evenham County, Georgia.
On this project, Open AI committed itself to reducing the electricity load by up to 1 GW, approximately equivalent to 700,000 households, when the grid needs to be reduced.
In a blog later today, Open AI will say: “Our goal is to make such load adjustment capabilities a core component of future data centre campus construction and operation”.
The blog writes: “This means that we will consult with the electricity company to determine the size of the reduced load, the speed of response, and the duration”.
Specific programmes vary from campus to campus and details are finalized and published separately.
A related statement: John McCalik, Director of the Open AI Energy Policy, stated that the initiative reflected a shift in industry thinking, technology and adjustments that incorporated community feedback.
He said: “A year ago, I met with another large cloud manufacturer, who still maintains the five nines of reliability standards, but no one now insists on this.” “five nines” means that the data centre must achieve 99.999 per cent of continuous online access.
The AI and technological giants, including Open AI, have made successive commitments to make grid-friendly users and avoid pushing the electricity costs of ordinary users.
Open AI positioned this announcement on Monday as a set of honest operating rules from a vision commitment.
Open AI also argues that data centres can actually benefit ordinary electricity users.
According to Boven, a stable electricity demand in AI can contribute to the cost of grid infrastructure; and the load elasticity of this commitment can peak at power peaks.
Follow-up direction: Policymakers have promoted the use of electro-resilient data centres in many ways.
The United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has encouraged such flexibility by requiring grid operators to describe or reform large customer-connected processes.
The Senate Permit Bill specifically allows states to make “peak time limits” a pre-condition for access to the grid by data centres.
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