Bloomberg: the development of AI leads to rising electricity bills.
Demand from data centers is overloading the largest energy grid in the United States, and consumers are paying a high price for it. This is reported by Bloomberg. Silicon Valley, no matter how powerful it is, should be wary of the discontent of 67 million Americans, the news agency writes.
PJM Interconnection manages the largest electric grid in the U.S., covering all or part of 13 states in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, as well as Washington, D.C. According to the news agency, in 9 of these 13 states, as well as in Washington, D.C., average annual electricity bills for the year ending in May rose faster than the national average — and this increase was already significant, exceeding 6%.
Residents of New Jersey, where bills increased by 13.3% — the third largest increase in the country — may find some comfort in the fact that the situation in New York is even worse. According to Bloomberg, there, the increase was 14.4%.
After many years of stable electricity demand, PJM is now forecasting a sharp spike, and it takes time — and strong price incentives — for supply to adapt. The main culprit, according to Bloomberg, is the boom in artificial intelligence. PJM serves a rapidly growing cluster of data centers in Virginia. According to Monitoring Analytics, about 64% of the new charges that began appearing on bills in June are related to current and expected demand from data centers.
Training and using AI models requires much more energy than regular internet searches, the article notes. However, data center operators have economic incentives to improve energy efficiency and the tools to do so.
80% of electricity consumers in the U.S. are concerned about the impact of data centers on their utility bills. This is evidenced by the results of a study by Sunrun.
A survey of homeowners showed that distrust of traditional energy companies and their ability to meet the country's growing electricity needs is increasing among residents. Many are concerned about rising rates, more frequent outages, and the energy system's unpreparedness for increasing loads.
Many Americans are already feeling instability:
- 81% have experienced at least one power outage in the past year;
- 60% — up to three power outages during the same period.
- 87% reported consequences: spoiled food, loss of income, issues with medical equipment.
Electricity consumption from data centers serving artificial intelligence not only increases electricity prices for ordinary people but also harms the environment by increasing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
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