When data centres consume the energy of an entire city: A new challenge for Slovakia's critical infrastructure
Until a few years ago, data centres were mostly perceived as the technical backbone of the internet, cloud services and corporate servers. Today, however, the situation is changing dramatically. The rapid development of artificial intelligence, massive generative AI models and the accelerating digitalisation of states mean that data centres are becoming among the largest new consumers of electricity in Europe.
Modern AI data centres can no longer be described as mere ‘server rooms’. In many cases they are energy megaconsumers, with consumption levels approaching those of large industrial enterprises or even whole cities. Some hyperscale centres today consume amounts of energy comparable to hundreds of thousands of households. In Ireland, data centres already account for more than a fifth of the country's total electricity consumption, and the regulator there has openly warned about risks to grid stability.
This raises a fundamental question: 'Is Slovakia's power system ready for the era of artificial intelligence?'
Data centres as a new security factor
For many years, critical infrastructure was primarily associated with power plants, water systems, transport and telecommunications. Today the digital domain is becoming as strategic as physical infrastructure.
State information systems, the financial sector, hospital databases, cloud services, logistics and modern security technologies all rely on data centres. The issue is no longer only cyber security. The energy sustainability of the digital world itself is increasingly becoming a major topic.
The European Commission is therefore preparing new measures to limit the energy intensity of data centres, and several countries have already implemented significant regulatory interventions.
When states start to curb data-centre construction
What sounded like science fiction just a few years ago is now reality.
Ireland was forced to effectively halt the connection of new data centres in the Dublin area after energy authorities warned of the risk of outages and grid overload. New projects are now required to have their own energy sources or battery storage.
Singapore introduced a moratorium on new data-centre construction in 2019 because of energy shortages and environmental impacts. It later allowed only highly efficient projects under strict energy rules.
The Netherlands has started to limit hyperscale data centres due to grid overload and capacity shortages, with some regions imposing local bans or severe building restrictions.
These decisions illustrate that AI infrastructure is no longer solely a technological issue. It has become a matter of national energy security.
Slovakia between opportunity and risk
Slovakia is not yet among Europe's data-powerhouses. This can be both an advantage and a risk.
On the one hand, Slovakia benefits from a favourable geographic location, a relatively stable power grid, growing digital infrastructure and a strategic position within the EU.
On the other hand, Slovakia has not yet led a broad professional debate on the potential burden AI infrastructure may bring, how to prepare the power system, who will bear the costs of modernisation, and how to set rules for future investments.
If the state is not prepared, it may end up responding reactively to problems as they arise — similar to what is happening today in some Western European countries.
Why this matters
Because a modern state today depends on both electricity and data. Without a stable power supply, the digital economy will not function. Without data systems, the state will not function. Without strategic planning, a dangerous conflict may arise between technological growth and the stability of critical infrastructure.
The question is no longer only how much electricity we can produce. The question will also be: 'Who will consume it, under what conditions and with what impact on national security?'
The role of the Critical Infrastructure Association of the Slovak Republic
In such debates, expert platforms that connect the security sector, energy sector, technology companies and public administration become increasingly important. The Critical Infrastructure Association of the Slovak Republic (AKI SR) has long highlighted the need to systematically prepare Slovakia for new security and technological challenges. Beyond protecting traditional sectors, the discussion is increasingly opening up to issues of the state's digital resilience, energy stability and protection of strategic data systems.
AKI SR President Tibor Straka states: 'Future security risks will not only come in the form of physical attacks. They may also arise from overloaded power grids, dependence on foreign cloud platforms, or failures of digital systems on which the state is existentially dependent today.'
Bringing together experts from energy, security, local government, industry and the technology sector within AKI SR can be one of the factors that helps Slovakia manage the arrival of a new digital era without jeopardising the stability of critical infrastructure.
The future has already begun
Europe is investing billions of euros in AI infrastructure while concerns grow about whether power grids can keep pace with digital expansion. Some countries openly speak about limits to the growth of data centres; others impose strict regulatory conditions or restrictions.
Slovakia today has the opportunity to prepare in time — not only when the problem becomes a reality. The discussion about data centres is therefore not just a technological debate. It is a debate about future energy stability, digital sovereignty and the resilience of the state in the 21st century.
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