More than a dozen states have begun taking steps as #DataCenters drive a rapid build-out of #PowerPlants & transmission lines.

That has meant pressuring the nation’s biggest #power #grid operator to clamp down on price increases, studying the effect of data centers on #electricity #bills or pushing #DataCenter owners to pay a larger share of local transmission costs.

Rising #power #bills are “something legislators have been hearing a lot about. It’s something we’ve been hearing a lot about. More people are speaking out at the public utility commission in the past year than I’ve ever seen before,” said Charlotte Shuff of the Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board, a consumer advocacy group. “There’s a massive outcry.”

#BigTech#DataCenters#PowerPlants #grid #electricity