Good morning. The data-center cost question is landing in three places at once: on customer power bills, in transmission queues, and in the politics around who pays. Let's dig in.
Top Stories
AMERICANS START BLAMING DATA CENTERS FOR POWER BILLS
Heatmap News
Heatmap polling finds data centers are becoming a public explanation for rising electricity bills, turning local siting fights into a broader ratepayer politics problem.
NORTH CAROLINA TIES DATA-CENTER RULES TO NUCLEAR POWER
Raleigh News & Observer
The House passed a bill that would restrict hyperscale data centers and block large coal or gas retirements until Duke Energy secures nuclear replacement capacity.
AI POWER COSTS HIT PJM RATEPAYERS
Forbes
AI-driven demand is moving through PJM capacity auctions onto power bills for the 67 million people across the PJM region, making the buildout a power-market story.
THE GRID LOOKS FOR ROOM ON EXISTING WIRES
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Dynamic line ratings and other advanced transmission tools can unlock capacity on lines utilities already built, but incentives still tilt toward expensive new projects.
AI BACKLASH BECOMES A POLITICAL-RISK WARNING
Forbes
Former U.S. energy adviser Amos Hochstein warns the AI industry could face a major political crisis if communities see data centers and power plants as imposed on them.
Power & Grid
TVA PUTS PAYROLL-CUT SAVINGS INTO NUCLEAR, COAL AND GRID WORK
Knoxville News Sentinel
The utility is redirecting $153 million from payroll cuts toward grid modernization, nuclear work and coal priorities aligned with the Trump administration.
WISCONSIN LAWMAKERS PUSH BACK ON TRANSMISSION MONOPOLY
Wisconsin Watch
A dozen Wisconsin Republicans oppose utilities seeking a federal pause on competitive bidding for transmission projects as data-center load drives grid expansion.
PJM SMART-METER DATA STAYS LOCKED UP
Canary Media
Utilities have spent nearly $6 billion on about 12 million smart meters in PJM, but demand-response companies say withheld data is blocking grid relief.
COLUMBIA RIVER TRANSMISSION PLAN DRAWS TRIBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN
OPB
A proposed 100-mile high-voltage line under the Columbia River could help meet Northwest power demand, but the route is already raising permitting and environmental questions.
DEMAND-SIDE RESOURCES GET A MODELING UPGRADE
Utility Dive
A Brattle Group report says better customer experience and modeling can expand demand-side portfolios as load growth, renewables and electrification strain planning.
Data Centers
TENNESSEE MAKES DATA CENTERS PAY THEIR OWN GRID COSTS
Memphis Commercial Appeal
A new Tennessee law requires large data centers to cover their own infrastructure costs, aiming to keep those upgrades off household electric bills.
MICROSOFT TOUTS LOWER-WATER DATA CENTERS
Tom's Hardware
Microsoft says new AI data centers using closed-loop cooling can cut water consumption dramatically, while critics note the claim does not fix the existing fleet.
LOUDOUN HOMEOWNERS FIGHT DATA-CENTER POWER LINES
WJLA
Homeowners are battling Dominion Energy's proposed Golden-to-Mars transmission route, arguing the high-voltage lines would damage property values in dense neighborhoods.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS TARGET ANTI-DATA-CENTER NONPROFITS
NOTUS
Ways and Means Republicans are investigating whether anti-data-center nonprofits have China ties, a partisan escalation of the politics around local opposition.
DATA CENTERS AND SOLAR FARMS COLLIDE IN VIRGINIA LOCAL POLITICS
Cardinal News
Botetourt County shows how data centers and solar projects can trigger overlapping local fights over land, power, tax base and who decides what gets built.
Stat of the Day
$6B
Spent on roughly 12 million smart meters across PJM
Canary Media reports demand-response companies say much of that data remains locked away, limiting one of the cheapest ways to manage load growth.
Canary Media report ↗