'Internet hotels' threaten to sap Europe's power supply

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LONDON (CNN) -- Power supplies in cities across Europe might be stretched thin by more than 200 planned "Internet hotels," which will house computer hardware.

Electric companies will have to build new substations and install extra power lines to accommodate the buildings -- also known as "telco hotels" -- which will be built in the next four years.

The buildings house file servers and other hardware needed to cope with the increasing use of Web sites by businesses.

Ten of the data centers being planned for London would reportedly increase demand for power in the city by 20 percent.

The extra energy demand will mostly be used to power cooling equipment that prevents file servers from getting too hot.

London already feeling 'dramatic' effects

London Electricity spokesman Derek Salter told CNN it was essential for telco hotel builders to liaise with the utility during the early planning stage.

He said there were parts of London where demand was already "dramatic" -- namely the City, the West End and Docklands.

When the Millennium Dome was built at Greenwich, 11 extra substations had to be built at a cost of $4.8 million (£3 million).

But there were other parts of the UK capital where demand was not so great, Salter said.

"We are not in the business of getting people to switch off," Salter said. "We hope they will come to us at the planning stage so we can decide whether new substations are required or new cabling.

"The infrastructure is what needs to be changed in the cases where demand is great. People cannot just assume that by just putting up a structure somewhere that electricity will just flow into it."

He said additional technical equipment required to supply electricity for the telco hotels would have to be paid for by their owners.

"We feel confident we can supply the demand."

In California's Silicon Valley, power cutbacks have already been experienced because of telco hotel growth. Silicon Valley holds the greatest number of such buildings in San Jose, and in June Pacific Gas and Electric Corp. had to cut power to 97,000 customers to prevent swamping the network.

Several companies are building Internet hotels, including Level 3, a U.S. and European-wide Internet specialist group.

The company has 38 hotels in the United States and five in Europe -- in London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Spokesman James Tyler told CNN the company plans to build 21 more in Europe and also in Asia.

"Demand is exploding," Tyler said, "but we have excellent relationships with all the electricity companies involved and work closely with them."

Level 3 hotels started off covering 75,000 square feet but are now up to 200,000 square feet. The hotels cost around $3.2 million (£2 million) each.

Security advantage for businesses

Independent industry analyst Richard Endersby told CNN that security was the main advantage for businesses using hotels. "Short of nuclear attack, these buildings are very secure.

"Basically they are buildings rented by companies who do not want the responsibility of looking after their Web servers," Endersby said. "Anything from fire to the cleaner pulling out the plug and losing information is a threat to companies who site their Web servers in their own buildings."

The hotels come with video-camera security and fingerprint readers.

The UK's National Grid has already started work on a 20 kilometer- (12 mile-) long, three meter- (10 feet-) wide tunnel to house cables snaking across London to carry the increased power demands.

Project manager Jim Street said the tunnel, due to be completed in 2004, is the largest civil engineering project that the National Grid has ever undertaken in London.

Another Internet hotel company, Colt Telecom, is planning 11 new hotels in Vienna, Zurich, Stockholm, Brussels and Berlin by the end of this year. It is already operating them in London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Madrid and Milan.

Marketing director Stephen Beddo said: "Power sources are critical to the operation of our Internet service centers. É and is one of the critical requirements when deciding the location."

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London Electricity
National Grid: International: UK

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