Glossary
Curtailment
Cutting back how much electricity a customer draws, or how much a power plant produces, usually to protect the grid.
On the demand side, curtailment means reducing or cutting off power to some customers, often during emergencies when supply is short. Some data centers agree in advance to cut their use at such times, sometimes in exchange for faster connection or lower rates.
On the supply side, curtailment means ordering power plants, often wind or solar, to produce less than they could because the grid cannot use or carry the electricity.
In AI news, debates about curtailment often concern who should lose power first in a shortage and whether flexible data centers can connect sooner if they agree to be curtailed.
Read more: our explainer