India’s Data Centre Boom Need More Than Reliable Power

As data centres become a meaningful part of national electricity demand, reliability can no longer be defined only by the availability of megawatts.

October 13, 2026. By News Bureau

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articles

Quality Power

Bharanidharan Pandyan

Data centres

CBRE

UPS systems

Transmission and Distribution System

IEEE

Ministry of Power

India’s data centre industry is entering a period of exceptional growth, driven by AI, cloud computing and rapid digitalisation. CBRE estimates that operational capacity had already reached about 1.75 GW by the end of H1 2026, while JLL expects this to increase to around 6 GW by 2029. At this scale, the discussion cannot remain limited to availability of power. Power quality, dynamic performance and grid interaction will become equally important.

Modern data centres are highly power electronic loads. UPS systems, rectifiers, converters, variable speed drives, cooling systems and server power supplies operate simultaneously at very high load densities. AI infrastructure adds another dimension through larger step changes, higher utilisation factors and rapidly changing electrical demand.

These characteristics directly affect the network. Voltage deviation, harmonic distortion, reactive power variation, transient response and rate of change of load all become important. The concern is not only whether the grid can supply the required MW, but whether voltage, frequency and waveform quality can be maintained within acceptable limits under normal operation, contingencies and rapid changes in computing load.

The interaction is also bidirectional. A data centre is sensitive to disturbances originating from the grid, but a sufficiently large data centre can itself influence the local network through harmonics, reactive power demand, rapid load recovery and converter behaviour following a disturbance. This is increasingly being recognised in international standards work.

IEEE is developing P4200, Standard for Electric Transmission and Distribution System Interconnection Functional, Performance, and Interoperability Requirements for Data Centres. The proposed standard addresses voltage and frequency performance, ride through capability, post fault power recovery, ramp rates, protection coordination, power quality and monitoring. It builds upon established interconnection principles contained in standards such as IEEE 1547, IEEE 2800 and IEC 62786.

IEEE’s September 2026 work on data centre design and grid interaction also recognises the need to define the electrical interface between large data centres and the utility network more clearly, particularly as AI workloads introduce increasingly dynamic demand.

This is especially relevant for India. Our data centre expansion is taking place at the same time as large scale renewable integration, growth in inverter-based generation, expansion of HVDC transmission and increasing use of battery energy storage. The electrical system is therefore becoming more power electronic on both the generation and load sides.

The Ministry of Power has already identified power quality and harmonics assessment as an area requiring a suitable framework as inverter-based resources and large bulk loads increase. The engineering response should begin at the planning stage. Load flow studies alone are no longer sufficient for very large facilities. Short circuit, harmonic, voltage stability and dynamic studies should be carried out based on the actual load characteristics, converter topology, network strength and operating scenarios.

Harmonic studies should evaluate current injection and voltage distortion at the point of common coupling. Reactive power studies should assess power factor and voltage regulation across the operating range. Dynamic studies should examine behaviour during voltage dips, frequency excursions, load transfer, UPS operation and post fault recovery. The requirement for compensation should then be determined from the studies.

STATCOMs and SVCs can provide dynamic reactive power and voltage support. Harmonic filters can control specific harmonic orders and reduce voltage distortion. In some networks, combinations of passive filtering and dynamic compensation may be required. The solution should be based on system impedance and measured or modelled network behaviour, not on a standard equipment configuration.

Continuous monitoring will also become increasingly important. Large data centres evolve continuously as computing racks, cooling systems and power conversion equipment are added. Their electrical characteristics therefore change over time. India has an advantage because much of this infrastructure is still to be built. We could incorporate these requirements into the electrical architecture at the design stage rather than retrofit solutions after instability or power quality issues appear.

As data centres become a meaningful part of national electricity demand, reliability can no longer be defined only by the availability of megawatts. It must also include voltage stability, harmonic performance, reactive power behaviour, disturbance response and the ability of the facility to operate without adversely affecting the grid.

For the next phase of India’s digital infrastructure, power availability and power quality will have to be engineered together.

- Bharanidharan Pandyan, Jt.Managing Director, Quality Power