Editing Openai/68743fec-f760-8005-96f0-36db79274265 (section)

=== Assistant: Fantastic observation — this question goes straight to the core issue in how we think about criticality of data center … ===
Fantastic observation — this question goes straight to the core issue in how we think about criticality of data center operations, especially in rural areas supporting AI or hyperscale loads.

Let’s unpack it clearly:

==== ❓What would constitute an “emergency” that justifies using a peaker plant to serve a data center? ====

===== ✅ Valid Emergencies (Generally Accepted) =====

These are conditions where grid stability or human safety are threatened:
# Grid contingency — transmission line or transformer failure
# Extreme weather event — heatwave or polar vortex straining supply
# Loss of renewable output — sudden drop in wind/solar generation
# Cybersecurity or ransomware attacks on utility infrastructure
# System-wide underfrequency/undervoltage — risk of cascading outages

These could trigger peaker plant use as backup generation for any large user.

==== 🧠 What About AI Workloads? Are They Truly “Emergency-Critical”? ====

Generally, no — but some segments might be. Here's how to think about it:

===== 1. Non-Critical AI Workloads =====

| Examples                                     | Interruptible? | Justifies peaker use? |
| -------------------------------------------- | -------------- | --------------------- |
| Chatbots, image generation, model training   | ✅ Yes          | ❌ No                  |
| Video encoding, search indexing, ad delivery | ✅ Yes          | ❌ No                  |

: These can and should be throttled or paused during tight grid conditions — especially in air-cooled data centers that are not hospitals or defense sites.

===== 2. Potentially Critical Workloads =====

| Examples                                         | Interruptible? | Justifies peaker use? |
| ------------------------------------------------ | -------------- | --------------------- |
| Hospital diagnostics (e.g., AI triage)           | ❌ No           | ✅ Possibly            |
| Real-time disaster modeling (weather/earthquake) | ❌ No           | ✅ Possibly            |
| Financial clearing systems / banking AI          | ⚠️ Limited     | ⚠️ Case-by-case       |
| Defense/military compute workloads               | ❌ No           | ✅ Yes, if contracted  |

: These may require uninterrupted service, and some data centers contract with federal or financial institutions to serve such loads.

==== 🤖 So What's Likely at the Toronto Site? ====

The Applied Digital data center near Toronto is designed for high-density compute, likely focused on:
* AI model training and inference
* Blockchain or large-scale data processing
* Possibly cloud services for third-party clients

These are almost always delay-tolerant and non-emergency workloads, meaning:

: There is no valid reason to trigger local peaker plant operation during a grid peak just to keep this AI work running at full speed — unless the data center also hosts critical clients, which would need to be disclosed.

==== ✅ Policy Opportunity ====

You can propose language like:

: "During grid stress events or system peaks, electricity supply to non-emergency, delay-tolerant workloads (including AI training, inference, and content generation) shall be interruptible or throttled before engaging peaker plant operations."

And define "emergency" as:

: "Emergency conditions are those in which public health, safety, or grid integrity are at risk, as determined by the regional transmission operator or system operator, and do not include commercial service-level expectations for discretionary workloads."

Would you like help drafting specific zoning or utility policy language that incorporates this threshold for defining “emergency”? This could be a powerful tool for local control.