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

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.

California virtual power plant with Tesla Powerwalls in 100,000 homes generated 535 megawatts for 2 hours. https://www.semafor.com/article/08/07/2025/california-is-finding-a-way-around-trumps-renewables-crackdown#Power#Grid

California virtual power plant with Tesla Powerwalls in 100,000 homes generated 535 megawatts for 2 hours. https://www.semafor.com/article/08/07/2025/california-is-finding-a-way-around-trumps-renewables-crackdown#Power#Grid

Home battery power plant: Batteries installed in people's homes participated in an experiment to provide significant grid power when needed
https://electrek.co/2025/08/04/california-grid-gets-a-record-power-assist-from-a-100k-home-battery-fleet/
#california #electrify #battery #sunrun #tesla #power#pge #+

Home battery power plant: Batteries installed in people's homes participated in an experiment to provide significant grid power when needed
https://electrek.co/2025/08/04/california-grid-gets-a-record-power-assist-from-a-100k-home-battery-fleet/
#california #electrify #battery #sunrun #tesla #power#pge #+

People today worry about data center power use, so here's a little history from one of the earliest computers: "With minimal cooling technology – two 20-horsepower blowers – ENIAC raised the room temperature to 50ºC when in operation and its 160kW energy consumption caused blackouts in the city of Philadelphia."

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/analysis/eniac-at-75-a-pioneer-of-computing/

#Computing#Power #History

"And our #Constitution was very clear in saying…there's one branch that has the #power to tariff & it isn't the president & it isn't the #courts. It's the #Congress of the #UnitedStates," Katyal said.

The case, known as V.O.S. Selections v. Trump, centers on whether #Trump exceeded his #authority by invoking an emergency-powers #law to impose a slew of far-reaching tariff policies.

#law#SeparationOfPowers#NealKatyal #tariffs

Trump has said that, starting on Friday, he plans to impose 50% #tariffs on Brazilian goods, in large part because Brazilian authorities have charged former President Jair #Bolsonaro with trying to hold on to #power after losing the 2022 election. [inspired by Trump 2020]

#law #geopolitics

We all suspected it, now it’s confirmed.

#Musk ordered shutdown of #Starlink satellite service as #Ukraine retook territory from #Russia

A previously unreported order by #ElonMusk to cut satellite #communications over a portion of Ukraine disrupted a counteroffensive by Kyiv in the autumn of 2022. Reuters investigated the billionaire's order & its implications for countries increasingly reliant on his Starlink internet service.

#power #corruption #oligarchy
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/musk-ordered-shutdown-starlink-satellite-service-ukraine-retook-territory-russia-2025-07-25/

The states have argued #Trump’s #BirthrightCitizenship order is blatantly #unconstitutional & threatens millions of dollars for #HealthInsurance contingent on #citizenship. The issue is expected to move quickly back to SCOTUS.

#law#AbuseOfPower

But #Musk’s order, which hasn’t previously been reported, is the first known instance of the billionaire actively [& personally] shutting off #Starlink coverage over a battlefield during the conflict. The decision shocked some Starlink employees & effectively reshaped the front line of the fighting, enabling #Musk to take “the outcome of a war into his own hands,” another one of the three people said.

#power #corruption #oligarchy

Upon #Musk’s order, #Ukraine troops suddenly faced a #communications #blackout, acc/to a Ukrainian military official, an advisor to the armed forces, & 2 others who experienced #Starlink failure near the front lines. Soldiers panicked, drones surveilling #Russia forces went dark, & long-range artillery units, reliant on Starlink to aim their fire, struggled to hit targets.

#power #corruption #oligarchy

“We have to do this,” Michael Nicolls, the #Starlink engineer, told colleagues upon receiving the order from #Musk, one of these people said. Staffers complied, the 3 people told Reuters, deactivating at least a hundred Starlink terminals, their hexagon-shaped cells going dark on an internal map of the company’s coverage. The move also affected other areas seized by #Russia, including some of #Donetsk province further east.

#power #corruption #oligarchy

…#Musk’s order was an early glimpse of the #power the magnate now wields in #geopolitics & #GlobalSecurity because of #Starlink, a fast-growing #satellite internet service that barely existed early this decade & now provides connectivity even in remote areas of the world. Even before his brief role as donor & advisor to #Trump, Starlink’s success–& the unrivaled connectivity it offers across the planet–had given Musk increasing #influence w/political leaders, governments & militaries worldwide.

But #Musk’s order, which hasn’t previously been reported, is the first known instance of the billionaire actively [& personally] shutting off #Starlink coverage over a battlefield during the conflict. The decision shocked some Starlink employees & effectively reshaped the front line of the fighting, enabling #Musk to take “the outcome of a war into his own hands,” another one of the three people said.

#power #corruption #oligarchy