[36698] in North American Network Operators' Group
Internet demand and power shortages
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Sean Donelan)
Mon Apr 16 03:11:34 2001
Date: 16 Apr 2001 00:03:32 -0700
Message-ID: <20010416070332.16320.cpmta@c004.sfo.cp.net>
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To: nanog@merit.edu
From: Sean Donelan <sean@donelan.com>
Errors-To: owner-nanog-outgoing@merit.edu
Regulated utilities seem to like to blame the Internet for the world's
woes. First telephone companies scared the world with claims the
Internet would disrupt 9-1-1 services, and now electric companies
claim unprecendented demand from Internet companies is leading to
power shortages and rolling blackouts.
From the April 15, 2001 Contra Costa Times:
> The theory that the Internet sucked up the power grid and launched
> an era of rolling blackouts is staunchly rebuked by academic experts,
> who say much of today's demand follows population and economic growth
> trends. Indeed, as early as 1988, the California Energy Commission
> issued forecasts for peak electricity demand in 2000 that overshot reality.
>
> "When people say the high electricity demand is causing the California
> power crisis and the Internet is causing the high electricity demand,
> it's a multi-part false statement," said Jonathan Koomey, a staff
> scientist and group leader at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.
>
> "It sounds plausible. People believe it when you tell them, but actually
> it's one of these cases of urban legend becoming conventional wisdom."
http://www.contracostatimes.com/partners/nf/wilson_20010415.htm
Here is Dr. Koomey's information, and various publications.
http://enduse.lbl.gov/bios/jonathan.html
http://enduse.lbl.gov/projects/infotech.html
Electricity Used by Office Equipment and Network Equipment in the U.S.:
Detailed Report and Appendices
http://enduse.lbl.gov/Info/45917b-abstract.html
The conclusion is all the office and electronic equipment consumes
about 74 TWh/year, or about 2% of the total US electric power consumption.
If you add all telecommunications and electronics manufacturing it rises
to 3% of the total US electric power consumption. The upper limit on
the Internet's consumption contribution from a different memo is 36TWh/year.
