AI data centres are becoming the GTA's biggest new power customers — and the grid is feeling it
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
Local utilities say several planned data centre projects around the region have already triggered capacity reviews normally reserved for heavy industrial applicants.
Utilities serving the Greater Toronto Area say a wave of proposed AI data centre projects has begun triggering the kind of capacity reviews normally reserved for large industrial applicants, as compute demand collides with an already-tight regional grid.
None of the largest proposed projects have broken ground yet, but interconnection queue data shows a marked jump in inquiries over the past two quarters.
Provincial energy planners say they're watching the trend closely but have not yet proposed policy changes specific to data centre load.