How California Lawmakers are Planning to Curb Data Centers' High Energy Use

Source: CalMatters |  By CalMatters

California residents now pay the highest price for electricity in the continental U.S., state analysts reported last month. In response, California lawmakers have in recent weeks proposed bills to ensure that electricity customers don’t pay for the infrastructure that utility companies build to serve data centers — and to encourage more energy efficiency or use of clean energy on the part of the tech companies, entrepreneurs, and IT departments that utilize the centers.

But, so far, data center expansion shows no signs of slowing in California, said Sylvie Ashford, an energy and policy analyst at The Utility Reform Network. Ashford said the need to run transmission lines to data centers could hike prices for California ratepayers, one in five of whom are already behind on paying their electricity bill “Regulators need to shield residential and small business customers from shouldering the brunt of these new data center costs,” Ashford said. “California needs to be proactive and develop equitable solutions for cost recovery and electric rate design, so that data centers are paying their fair share for system improvements.”