东京——东京电力控股公司是日本多家收紧数据中心用电规则的公用事业公司之一，旨在应对运营商“囤积产能”的趋势，即预留最终却未充分利用的电力容量。
TOKYO -- Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings is among the Japanese utilities tightening rules on electricity for data centers to counter a trend of operators "capacity squatting," or reserving power capacity that ends up being underutilized.
输配电子公司东京电力电网周四修订了电网使用规则。此举部分旨在阻止数据中心运营商签订电力供应协议后，因在争相建设人工智能数据中心的热潮中计划变更而导致产能闲置。
Transmission and distribution subsidiary TEPCO Power Grid amended its grid usage rules Thursday. The aim is partly to discourage data center operators from making power supply agreements that result in stranded capacity when plans change amid the rush to build data centers for artificial intelligence.
根据新规则，若数据中心运营商等企业在签约后三个月内未支付其应承担的电力基础设施费用，合同将被解除。
Under the new rules, contracts for such companies as data center operators will be canceled if the operator does not pay for its portion of power infrastructure costs within three months of a contract being signed.
如果运营商变更约定的用电量或施工时间，电力公司也有权解除合同。
The power companies will also be able to cancel the contracts if operators make changes to agreed-on power amount or construction timing.
从2027年4月左右开始，东京电力电网还计划对接收电力的运营商实施更严格管控。推迟开始用电的运营商可能会被收取闲置电网扩建费用。
Starting around April 2027, TEPCO Power Grid plans to also clamp down on operators receiving power. Operators that push back the start of electricity use will be able to be charged for underutilized power grid additions.
数据中心运营商在施工前与供应商签订电力供应协议。随着更大型项目需要更多电网基础设施，近年来随着更多数据中心规划出台，公用事业公司收到了大量申请。繁忙地区的项目可能需要数年至十年才能获得供电。
Data center operators set up power supply agreements with suppliers before construction. As larger projects require more grid infrastructure, utilities have been inundated with requests in recent years as more data centers are planned. Projects in the busiest areas can take from years to a decade to get power.
许多数据中心运营商甚至在其设施细节尚未确定前就要求扩建电网，有时承诺向那些建设计划已延期或缩减的数据中心供电。
Many data center operators have been asking for grids to be built out before the details of their facilities are even set, sometimes committing to power delivery to data centers whose construction plans have been delayed or scaled down.
日本数据中心协会赞成修改规则，以确保更快向真正需要的人供电。与此同时，一些数据中心运营商提出了反对意见。
The Japan Data Center Council has come out in favor of the rule changes to ensure faster delivery of power to those that actually need it. Some data center operators, meanwhile, have raised opposition.
“数据中心不能在没有大量电力的情况下运行，”其中一人说。“一旦对何时能够获得电力做出估计，做出更详细的投资决策是很自然的商业明智之举。一些人说，在一家大型科技公司要求迅速通电后，对使用较少的电力进行处罚，可能会阻碍投资，包括来自海外的投资。
"Data centers can't operate without massive amounts of power," one said. "It's only natural businesswise to make more detailed investment decisions once there is an estimate for when power can be secured." Attaching penalties to using less power after a big technology player has asked to be powered on quickly is likely to stymie investment, including from overseas, some have said.
在日本，90%的数据中心集中在东京和关西地区，包括大坂和京都。化石燃料发电巨头JERA已经收到了许多关于在东京附近的发电厂附近建立数据中心的咨询。
In Japan, 90% of data centers are concentrated around Tokyo and in the Kansai region, which includes Osaka and Kyoto. Fossil fuel power giant JERA has had many inquiries about building data centers close to its power plants near Tokyo.