I live in a red state; my electricity bill went up 40% (flat rate annual billing), but my consumption only went up 10%. Local newspaper reports that this is because of data centers.

I typically don't vote for Republicans, and I typically do vote for environmental protection. However, my state is heavily gerrymandered by the Republican supermajority here.

So, I don't really have a choice.

Also, go fuck yourself for being so glib about an entire state's population and wishing them ill.

Grid upgrades would have to happen no matter what. Data centers are just the catalyst and boogeyman at the moment.

This utopia that everyone has about electric cars will never come to fruition without grid upgrades.

This country has systematically underinvested and underdeveloped the electric grid for 50 years and now we are paying the price. It is a government failing.

The real question is "why do rates go up with a data center?"

That answer is interesting. Its cause in most states, if a company formally requests a power hookup, the power company MUST comply. Thus entails in upgrading substations, transformers, supply lines, etc. And all those upgrades are borne by the citizens in that region.

That's why you bill goes up, cause datacenter upgrades dump on the public their externalities.

In some states like Indiana, the governor is already talking about changing that law requiring data centers to pay for upgrades.

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