When power becomes the bottleneck: Why reliability is the linchpin in ASEAN’s data center boom
Across Southeast Asia, data centers are driving economic growth, innovation, and digital transformation. Yet this potential increasingly hinges on a single factor: dependable power. Electricity demand from data centers across APAC is projected to rise by more than 140% to around 780 TWh by 2030. As new capacity takes time and significant cost to build, existing generation infrastructure will shoulder the burden. This places reliability at the center of the
By Joko Sutopo
By Joko Sutopo
Across Southeast Asia, data centers are driving economic growth, innovation, and digital transformation. Yet this potential increasingly hinges on a single factor: dependable power. Electricity demand from data centers across APAC is projected to rise by more than 140% to around 780 TWh by 2030. As new capacity takes time and significant cost to build, existing generation infrastructure will shoulder the burden. This places reliability at the center of the region’s ambitions.
Ageing infrastructure will be under intensifying strain
Much of ASEAN’s mainstream power generation fleet, whether coal or gas-fired, was designed for steadier operating conditions. Today, these assets are exposed to relentless baseload demand from always-on computing, intense cooling requirements and rising utilization levels.
Data center clusters create concentrated hotspots of demand that can potentially overwhelm existing power generation infrastructure. Under such conditions, inefficiencies can accumulate quickly. Turbines, generators and pumps originally engineered for predictable load profiles are now subjected to frequent ramping, thermal cycling and higher vibration levels. Over time, this accelerates fatigue and increases the likelihood of outages.
Cooling systems are also more sensitive in humid climates. Corrosion, leakage and mismatched hydraulic performance can reduce efficiency and narrow safety margins. Electrical components face similar degradation. Insulation systems, windings and protection equipment may deteriorate under fluctuating loads and environmental stress, raising the risk of unplanned trips.
When outages occur, operators often fall back on emergency generation, driving up operating costs and undermining long-term efficiency goals.
To address this, data center operators are turning to behind-the-meter (BTM) solar panels, on-site generation equipment, batteries, and efficiency tweaks to offset rising power demand and also bridge the gap in power supply for new builds. However, land constraints, solar intermittency, storms and limited large-scale battery capacity mean that BTM solutions are not perfect. That gap makes the performance of existing grid-connected power generation assets the critical variable.
Where targeted engineering makes a difference
Power plant operators need not wait for new capacity to ease the supply crunch. Targeted engineering interventions can restore performance, extend asset life and reduce outage risk within existing plants.
Prime examples include precision overhauls of turbine rotors, shaft realignment, coupling repairs and generator rewinds, which can support the recovery of lost efficiency and stabilize output. Pump retrofits, hydraulic re-rating and improved sealing systems can reduce energy losses and improve flow reliability in cooling circuits.
Condition monitoring and customized interventions enabled by predictive maintenance allow operators to detect degradation early and schedule work before issues escalate into failures. In one case in the Philippines, a cracked rotor coupling was repaired and realigned within weeks, avoiding potentially months of outage. Precision work of this kind restores output quickly while minimizing unplanned downtime and strengthening confidence in supply.
Cooling and pumping systems offer another high impact opportunity. At a 400 MW Indonesian power plant, a corroded cooling pump threatening output was replaced with a custom unit in under three months. Retrofitted with redesigned hydraulics and corrosion-resistant materials, the replacements improved throughput, cut energy losses, and lower lifecycle costs compared to a full system swap.
Whether through hydraulic re-rating, improved seals or flow-curve matching, these efficiency measures also lower maintenance costs, reduce water and energy waste, and support compliance with tightening ESG standards on emissions and water use.
Lessons from hyperscale environments: A speed to power example
The importance of targeted engineering becomes even clearer when speed-to-market is the priority. In the hyperscale world, waiting for entirely new generation capacity simply is not feasible. Our work supporting one of the world’s largest greenfield data centers in the US showed that, at this scale, the pressure for generation assets to deliver sufficient power reliably and on schedule becomes even more acute.
The solution was a targeted engineering approach: refurbishing and repurposing three existing power generators (approx. 40MW each). By modernizing these existing assets and their control units, the project ensured the cluster would be operationally ready on schedule. This proves that repurposed assets – when engineered to a “like-new” standard – are the fastest way to bridge the speed-to-power gap.
These gains could have a positive network effect. Stronger availability and reliability at generation level supports onsite microgrid stability, strengthens supply confidence for co-located facilities, and reduces systemic stress during peak demand.
Small percentage gains in uptime or efficiency represent substantial megawatt-hours saved annually, translating to lower operating risk for data center operators and greater resilience for the surrounding power network.
Reliability will become a competitive lever
For ASEAN, where data center capacity is expanding rapidly, such as with the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), engineering precision at power plant level needs to scale to deliver economic impact regionally. As digital infrastructure becomes foundational to finance, manufacturing, healthcare and public services, power reliability will become a strategic differentiator.
Cloud providers and hyperscale operators will evaluate infrastructure resilience when selecting sites, while investors will scrutinize uptime records and asset condition. Regulators will examine energy efficiency, water use and emissions intensity.
Ensuring existing assets operate at their highest-attainable performance is one of the most immediate and practical levers available, reducing the risk of unplanned outages, improves resource efficiency and enhancing long-term competitiveness. In this context, partnering with service providers who can support multiple equipment types and having local expertise across the full power chain enables effective prevention strategies and rapid mobilization to stop failures before they emerge.
The author is President Director – Head of Services Southeast Asia of Sulzer
Resources:
https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.03867
https://www.sulzer.com/en/shared/case-studies/custom-pump-combats-corrosion-at-power-plant
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