Infomart Data Centers, a national wholesale data center provider, announced it has received approval from Portland General Electric (PGE) to become a Direct Access (DA) customer.
While still remaining power distribution service customers of PGE, Direct Access customers may competitively source electricity directly from third-party energy suppliers.
To capture the full benefits of deregulation and aid in its strategic energy procurement process, Infomart Portland has selected Noble Americas Energy Solutions, one of the country’s leading retail energy marketers, the company said.
“Our decision to pursue Direct Access is simply about having more choices,” says John Sheputis, president of Infomart Data Centers. “Direct Access for energy procurement is consistent with Infomart’s belief in an open market with unbundled tariffs, no markups and the freedom to make our own energy-mix decisions.”
If the Oregon DA experience follows the precedent set by Infomart Silicon Valley, which opted for Direct Access service in 2010, Infomart Portland tenants could expect to save hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on energy costs.
As compared with average Silicon Valley utility costs, a typical 1 MW Infomart Silicon Valley tenant realizes a power savings of 35 percent, or over $980,000 per year, compared to bundled tariff service.
Following a 16 MW and 100,000-square-foot expansion that will finalize in mid-summer 2016, bringing the facility to a total of 24 MW and 350,000 square feet, Infomart Portland will be the largest merchant data center in Oregon and one of the largest on the U.S. West Coast, the company said.
Rajani Baburajan