A technique for managing undervoltage in a compute system is disclosed. The technique includes a method that further includes: detecting an AC undervoltage condition in the compute system; and upon detecting the AC undervoltage condition: dynamically determining a holdup time as a function of the present load; determining a monitoring period as a function of the dynamically determined holdup time; waiting for the determined monitoring period to expire; and upon expiration of the determined monitoring period, perform a shutdown process if the AC undervoltage condition persists.