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>Then we see posts about AI data centers and electricity use which will lead to higher electric bills for ordinary people if demand is higher than supply. That

by gruez 7mo ago

>Then we see posts about AI data centers and electricity use which will lead to higher electric bills for ordinary people if demand is higher than supply. That hasn't really played out in reality. The correlation between datacenter capacity growth and electricity price growth is poor. https://www.economist.com/content-assets/images/20251101_USC145.png https://www.economist.com/content-assets/images/20251101_USC...

deleted 7mo ago
[deleted]
frm88 7mo ago
I think a more detailed look at data from 2024 to 2026 gives you a clearer picture than that graph from the economist. Electricity prices have risen more than 7% since lst year (EIA) https://www.consumerreports.org/data-centers/ai-data-centers-impact-on-electric-bills-water-and-more-a1040338678/ https://www.consumerreports.org/data-centers/ai-data-centers... Scroll down to get to the links to the data sites. That same Bloomberg analysis found that areas with high concentrations of data centers saw electricity prices jump 267 percent over the past five years.
- gruez 6mo ago
  >That same Bloomberg analysis found that areas with high concentrations of data centers saw electricity prices jump 267 percent over the past five years. If you click through to the bloomberg article, you'll find that the 267% figure is for wholesale prices, whereas the economist chart is for retail rates. Wholesale rates being up but retail rates staying the same or even dropping isn't contradictory, because retail rates contain other components which might drop with more datacenters. For instance having more datacenter usage means more of the transmission/distribution costs are borne more by datacenter users.
  - frm88 6mo ago
    Wholesale rates being up but retail rates staying the same or even dropping isn't contradictory, because retail rates contain other components which might drop with more datacenters I will not bore you with the many links I could provide which state that retail prices have risen up to 7% (like I stated above). CNBC reported this: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/21/why-electricity-prices-are-surging-for-us-households.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/21/why-electricity-prices-are-s..., More-Perfect-Union made video on it: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YN6BEUA4jNU https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YN6BEUA4jNU, Invezz states the complete opposite to your argument: wholesale prices are relatively table since 2023, while retail prices 'skyrocket' (their term, not mine) https://invezz.com/news/2025/10/29/us-retail-power-prices-soar-data-centers-and-supply-constraints-drive-up-costs/ https://invezz.com/news/2025/10/29/us-retail-power-prices-so.... I have no horse in this race, I'm in the EU, but the mechanisms by which the industries socialize costs is pretty universal and applies here as well.

by gruez 7mo ago

deleted 7mo ago

[deleted]

frm88 7mo ago

I think a more detailed look at data from 2024 to 2026 gives you a clearer picture than that graph from the economist. Electricity prices have risen more than 7% since lst year (EIA) https://www.consumerreports.org/data-centers/ai-data-centers-impact-on-electric-bills-water-and-more-a1040338678/ https://www.consumerreports.org/data-centers/ai-data-centers... Scroll down to get to the links to the data sites. That same Bloomberg analysis found that areas with high concentrations of data centers saw electricity prices jump 267 percent over the past five years.

gruez 6mo ago
>That same Bloomberg analysis found that areas with high concentrations of data centers saw electricity prices jump 267 percent over the past five years. If you click through to the bloomberg article, you'll find that the 267% figure is for wholesale prices, whereas the economist chart is for retail rates. Wholesale rates being up but retail rates staying the same or even dropping isn't contradictory, because retail rates contain other components which might drop with more datacenters. For instance having more datacenter usage means more of the transmission/distribution costs are borne more by datacenter users.
- frm88 6mo ago
  Wholesale rates being up but retail rates staying the same or even dropping isn't contradictory, because retail rates contain other components which might drop with more datacenters I will not bore you with the many links I could provide which state that retail prices have risen up to 7% (like I stated above). CNBC reported this: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/21/why-electricity-prices-are-surging-for-us-households.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/21/why-electricity-prices-are-s..., More-Perfect-Union made video on it: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YN6BEUA4jNU https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YN6BEUA4jNU, Invezz states the complete opposite to your argument: wholesale prices are relatively table since 2023, while retail prices 'skyrocket' (their term, not mine) https://invezz.com/news/2025/10/29/us-retail-power-prices-soar-data-centers-and-supply-constraints-drive-up-costs/ https://invezz.com/news/2025/10/29/us-retail-power-prices-so.... I have no horse in this race, I'm in the EU, but the mechanisms by which the industries socialize costs is pretty universal and applies here as well.