The rapid growth of data centers has raised concerns about their impact on electricity costs and grid planning. Amidst these worries, two senators – Elizabeth Warren (D) and Josh Hawley (R) – are urging the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to provide better information on how much energy data centers actually use.
A Joint Call for Transparency
In a joint letter to the EIA, the senators press the agency to publicly collect comprehensive, annual energy-use disclosures on data centers. They argue that this information is essential for accurate grid planning and will support policymaking to prevent large companies from increasing electricity costs for American families.
The Current State of Energy Data
Currently, there are no federal government bodies that collect numbers on energy use from data centers specifically. Information about water or electricity use at an individual data center can be considered proprietary business information and is most often disclosed voluntarily by the company itself. This lack of transparency makes it challenging to get official numbers on either current or projected electric load.
The Importance of Accurate Grid Planning
Ari Peskoe, a director at Harvard Law School’s Environmental and Energy Law Program, emphasizes that knowing how much energy data centers are using is a necessary part of accurate grid planning. “If we’re worried about ratepayers paying data-center energy costs, then knowing how much energy data centers are using is a piece of the puzzle,” he says.
The EIA Pilot Program: A Step in the Right Direction?
While the senators praise the EIA’s recent pilot program to collect energy consumption information from nearly 200 companies operating data centers in Texas, Washington, and Virginia, they also raise concerns about how the agency plans to move forward with more data collection. The senators ask whether the surveys will be mandatory and whether the EIA will collect information on behind-the-meter power.
Data Centers’ Growing Impact
As the data center boom spreads across the country, there have been widespread worries from voters about how their massive energy needs may increase consumers’ electric bills. This concern helped shape some midterm elections in data-center-heavy states, including Virginia and Georgia. Last month, Hawley cosponsored a bill with Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal that would require data centers to supply their own power sources in order to protect consumers.
The Need for Better Data
Utilities are privy to information about energy use from data centers in their region; they use this information to forecast growth. However, data centers will often shop around to different utilities, which causes utilities to double-count projects and forecast “phantom” growth – data centers that will never be built in their region. The CEO of Vistra, a retail electricity company, said during its first quarter earnings call last year that utilities may be inflating electricity demand anywhere from three to five times beyond what is actually needed.
A Call for Action
In conclusion, the senators’ letter highlights the need for better data on energy consumption from data centers. The EIA’s pilot program is a step in the right direction, but more work needs to be done to ensure that policymakers and utility companies have the information they need to make informed decisions about grid planning and energy use.
- Senators Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley are urging the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to provide better information on how much energy data centers actually use.
- The EIA pilot program aims to collect energy consumption information from nearly 200 companies operating data centers in Texas, Washington, and Virginia.
- Data centers’ growing impact on electricity costs and grid planning is a concern for policymakers and consumers alike.
As the debate around data center development continues to unfold, it is crucial that we prioritize transparency and better data. By doing so, we can ensure that policymakers have the information they need to make informed decisions about our energy future.