U.S. lawmakers and some tech executives push to make data centers pay more for power

Governors, senators and some technology executives across the United States are increasingly calling for data center companies to pay more for electricity, citing strain on the power grid and higher consumer costs. A growing body of research suggests the rapid expansion of data centers to support artificial intelligence is beginning to drive up electricity costs for residents and small businesses in some places.

Republicans and Democrats from at least a dozen states — including Florida, Oklahoma, New York and California — have proposed legislation. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland introduced a bill he said would ensure technology companies paid their fair share for grid upgrades; his bill cites analysis that by 2028 the share of U.S.

electricity used by data centers could almost double to as much as 12 percent, which he said "will push up electricity prices for everybody." He told The New York Times, "What we hope to do is create a national set of rules so that no matter where someone wants to build a data center, consumers know they are not going to get screwed with the costs." The technology industry has responded unevenly: Microsoft said it would "pay our way to ensure our data centers don’t increase your electricity prices" and pledged other local commitments; Amazon released a study it commissioned saying it had more than covered its power costs; and the Data Center Coalition said the industry is committed to paying its full cost of service.

Key Topics

Business, Data Centers, Pjm, Chris Van Hollen, Microsoft, Amazon