DOE To Study Impact Of AI Data Centers On American Electric Bills

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez requested a study on the impacts of the rapid development of data centers on consumer utility bills.

Ocasio-Cortez announced that the appropriations bill included her request after the House passed its fiscal year 2026 Energy and Water Appropriations Act, she announced in a Thursday release. In April, Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Kathy Castor wrote a letter to the Committee on Appropriations asking to include the study in the bill.

Ocasio-Cortez laid out two possible solutions to the problem: load flexibility and demand response programs to minimize the impacts of new data centers. The programs could help temporarily reduce electricity consumption during peak demand periods by using on-site generators, shifting workload to other facilities or scaling back operations to prevent blackouts...   ...more

RSK: You know my take on this...Data Centers should pay the bulk of the increases in utility usage.