A new study by researchers at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania found data centers accounted for about 4% of residential electricity rate increases over the past five years, while contributing 15% of the rise in industrial electricity prices between 2020 and 2025. Study co-author Serguei Netessine of Wharton said most price growth instead stems from rising gas costs, an aging grid, and infrastructure repairs following wildfires and hurricanes.
hardware.slashdot.org
· 2026-11-08
Google has broadened its partnership with energy company Voltus to create one of the largest virtual power plants in the US, covering the Mid-Atlantic PJM grid. Rather than building new generation, Voltus will pay homes and businesses to reduce electricity use during peak demand—often automatically via smart thermostats or batteries—freeing up grid capacity equivalent to a large nuclear reactor's output for Google's data centers.
hardware.slashdot.org
· 2026-10-22
Google has agreed to a 20-year power purchase deal with Constellation Energy to fund efficiency upgrades at 11 reactors across six nuclear plant sites in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The agreement represents more than $4.3 billion in new investment and is expected to add about 890 megawatts of nuclear capacity within five years. Google also signed a separate 15-year supply deal with Constellation covering other power plants on the PJM grid, regardless of fuel type.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-06
New research from Andy Masley finds that public opposition to data centers stems mainly from local economic and environmental impacts rather than distrust of AI or Big Tech. Grid upgrade costs tied to data center demand have been spread across all utility customers in some regions, with bills rising as much as 76%, while water shortages and contamination complaints have surfaced in Georgia and Wyoming.
techspot.com
· 2026-08-28
Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) has proposed a major residential rate reduction plan expected to save Hoosier customers roughly $59 million in electric bills through 2027, or about $100 annually for a typical household. The utility also intends to freeze rates for three years, crediting rising demand from data centers and other large customers for boosting revenue enough to offset costs. The proposal now awaits approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, with a decision anticipated by June 2027.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-08-28
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