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The recent increase in inquiries to us at Datacenter ColoBâle regarding the threat of power shortages indicates that companies are aware of the problem and are dealing with this situation.
For understanding, it may be helpful to briefly describe the difference between blackout and power shortage situation in a first interpretation.
Blackout
A blackout in the classic sense is when there is a widespread, uncontrolled power failure. In principle, however, there is enough power available to meet current demand.
Power shortage
In the event of a power shortage, the current demand for electricity cannot be met. What was considered hypothetical in the past is conceivable and real today.
Reduction in power consumption
What measures are planned on the consumption management side to reduce electricity consumption to a lower level in advance?
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- Savings appeals
- Consumption restrictions
- Immediate quota and contingency
- Grid disconnections
For detailed information see Ostral.
What is ColoBâle AG doing as a data center operator with regard to electricity-saving measures?
ColoBâle AG is classified as a large consumer by the Construction and Environmental Protection Directorate, Office for Environmental Protection and Energy (AUE) Basel Landschaft. On March 15, 2022, our energy consulting engineer submitted an energy consumption analysis (EVA) for the large consumer facility, the ColoBâle data center at Güterstrasse 72, 4133 Pratteln, to the AUE on the instructions of the Building and Environmental Protection Directorate, Office for Environmental Protection and Energy. The list of measures comprises two measures. These two measures will be implemented. A saving of 8% of the total electricity consumption can be expected. The AUE has subjected the EVA to a technical examination. In the AUE audit report dated April 6, 2022, the AUE emphasizes that the EVA contains all the necessary information and that the current PUE (power usage effectiveness for data centers) already corresponds to a very good value. The AUE concludes that the EVA and the measures listed therein are comprehensible and the requirements of the large consumer provisions of the cantonal energy law can be considered fulfilled.
What can our customers contribute to this?
It is noted that ColoBâle AG has no influence on the power consumption of the installed customer IT equipment. The customer is responsible for using energy-optimized IT equipment. There is certainly potential here to optimize the corresponding energy costs.
Power cut
In Switzerland, only the Federal Council can currently decide on major partial and time-defined power cuts. We as ColoBâle AG and data center operator have no influence on this. Whether the data centers in Switzerland will generally be given a special status (e.g. system-relevant) is currently being clarified by the responsible bodies.
What happens in the ColoBâle data center in the event of a power quota / power cut?
Based on current assumptions (24.08.2022), shutdown times of several hours are being considered. The interruptions will take place on a rotating basis and affect all areas of the distribution network equally. Regardless of the outage time and type, our diesel generators will go into operation, thus bridging the power outage. Companies that have installed their IT equipment in the ColoBâle data center are thus protected against an interruption or failure of the functions of their IT equipment.
Technical infrastructure Operating resources Diesel
Our two emergency diesel generators, each with a power of 1MW, each have a daily tank of about 800l capacity. If more than 50% of the capacity is used, the emergency diesel generators are automatically refilled from our area tank. The area tank is currently filled to 60% of the total capacity.
The effective consumption depends on:
- the season (air conditioning in summer)
- the utilization of the data center
For the reasons mentioned above, we cannot make any precise statement on the possible number of operating days. We assume that a minimum of 10 consecutive operating days will be achieved.
Further commitment on the part of ColoBâle AG
The Canton Baselland, Office for Military and Civil Protection, has initiated a crisis team - power shortage sub-team. ColoBâle AG has already made contact with the responsible persons and will participate in the discussions to find a solution in due course.
Source (images):
Colobale Archiv
pixabay.com