Democratic lawmakers are investigating the impact of data centers on electricity costs

Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Md.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Md.) I launched a letter on Tuesday to Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and several major data center developers to investigate their impact on Americans’ utility bills.

This step comes as electricity prices are increasingly rising Hot issue In the United States, which has far more data centers than any other country in the world Waves of local opposition For these facilities as a result. Energy demand is suddenly increasing after more than a decade Without much changeThis is due in large part to new data centers supporting the generative AI boom. Lawmakers contend that utilities end up shifting costs to consumers as they build new power plants and transmission lines to meet demand for data centers.

Through these utility rate increases, American households are financing the electricity costs of trillion-dollar technology companies letter He says. “Energy use in data centers should not come at the expense of energy availability and affordability for American families.”

Data centers represent more than 4 percent of electricity use in the country, a number that the US Department of Energy expects to reach 12 percent By 2028. AI increases the amount of power data centers need to complete more complex tasks. And even if Artificial intelligence bubble Pops, it could be other taxpayers Stuck with the bill For new energy projects being started in the meantime.

It’s difficult to know how much of the burden residential consumers will bear, in part because powerful technology companies have brokered deals with utilities behind closed doors and asked local officials Sign non-disclosure agreements Which limits the amount of information that is made public. In many cases, data center developers do not even disclose the identity of their tenants.

In an attempt to lift the veil, the three senators asked the companies to respond to a long list of questions in their letter by January 12 of next year. Topics range from electricity consumption in data centers and companies’ expansion plans to their lobbying efforts when it comes to local regulation. The senators sent the letter to Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, as well as data center developers CoreWeaveDigital Reality and Equinix.

Microsoft and Meta declined to comment on the record Edge. Google and the developers of the three data centers did not immediately respond to a query from Edge.

“Amazon pays for its own electricity, and we challenge anyone who claims otherwise to come forward with their data,” Amazon spokeswoman Lisa Lewandowski said in an email. Lewandowski pointed out A a report The financier, Amazon, says its data centers generate more revenue for utilities than it costs utilities to service those facilities.

Lewandowski also cited A December report From researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who found that higher electricity demand can actually reduce average retail electricity prices by spreading the costs over more customers. However, this study suggests that this trend tends to benefit large, non-resident clients. The researchers based this on data between 2019 and 2024, and warned that it is “unclear” whether the same pattern will continue moving forward if electricity demand continues to rise more sharply.