Devin Pehrson

Founder & President, Sovantra. Developing power and compute infrastructure in the west & Indian Country.

Former tribal energy CEO,
Building things that work.

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

On July 22 about 3,800 MW of data centers in northern Virginia came off the grid in two waves and onto their own back-up power, after a fault on a 230kV line. Nothing broke, the line did what a faulted line is supposed to do. PJM, which runs the grid across that part of the country, calls it the largest load transfer it has ever handled.

PJM is the biggest power market in the US, 67 million people across 13 states and DC, and it was serving 99,984 MW when this happened. A moment later, 96,205 MW. Just under four percent of everything it was carrying, gone. It has happened twice before there, July 10, 2024 and February 17, 2025, and neither one came close.

Losing load is not the dangerous direction. The blackouts people picture come from losing supply, when there is not enough electricity to go around. This was the reverse, the buildings fed themselves and the grid had generation running with nowhere left to send it, like leaning on a door somebody opens from the other side. You stumble forward instead of falling through the floor.

Operators had supply and demand back in balance in nine minutes, the reliability standard allows thirty. Nothing went dark, not on the grid and not in the buildings.

Northern Virginia is the largest data center cluster in the world and more campuses are coming, so the question is not whether this one hurt. PJM said on August 6 that these sites are likely letting go earlier than they need to, and it wants them to stay connected and ride the bump out instead. Big power plants have lived with that rule for decades. Texas has already written its version, and federal regulators told grid operators in June to put it in the standard contracts.

Nine minutes, nobody in the dark, and a tighter rule already being drafted. That is a far duller story than the headline wanted, and a much better one.

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@HixonStudio Its the little things right.

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@JohnAyr12294351 @VigilantFox The common denominator drops to 0.

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@NathanMerzke Got a real techo-classic vibe.

Moar RGB!!

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@DanielZambrini Cool, test. Having 4 versions is super helpful.

More model tests coming soon?

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@yb_effect Always open for feedback.

I'll send a DM.

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@attilavaszka I do like, it. I'd like to chat about one or two things. But great work!

What are the next steps?

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@nicomoel There's a saying about necessity...

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@cjc I pitched a group last week. They declined due to a perceived conflict. They helped me see behind the curtain a little, and I was grateful for the extra time.

Mad respect for those guys, because I wouldn't want to be in the otherside of the trade either.

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@sridharfyi Probably the size. We're pre-seed. I've heard to big, then too small, look at angels, then go way bigger.

Maybe it's conviction. We know what we need to resolve and what it's going to cost. I probably need to stick to that.

I appreciate the thought exercise. 🙏

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@gmkurtzer I have filled out a bunch of intake forms from capital sources. Many ask. If you come from big tech and Stanford, get ready for a fat pre-seed.

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@Revelation1217 I can't imagine.

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@jamiegull Thanks Jamie, there is definitely a rule/playbook, and I've been looking for it. It's like a herd mentality on the money side. The herd moves and the founder runs to where it was. Having trouble figuring out where its going, from a narrative perspective. We grind on!!

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@attilavaszka New startup, take a stab.

https://t.co/qrMrntF2zd

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@CodeWithTamara I'm at 2. I was at the vet the other day, and watching all the staff running about. There's not a snowballs chance in hell anyone there (or anywhere like there) is going to dig in to figure SI out.

It's still so early.

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@techguy_x

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@DenisCerednice1 Trying to think differently about the infrastructure we already have.

https://t.co/qrMrntF2zd

Happy to know you!

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@NathanMerzke My bookmarks are where good intentions go to die.

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@SoundDobad

[Devin Pehrson @DevinPehrsonUT]

@pixel2ai We'll see. It's a loyalty test.