Will Maryland's Utility Bills Increase $1.6B to Support Other States' Datacenters? (tomshardware.com)
- Reference: 0183170058
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/05/09/2155207/will-marylands-utility-bills-increase-16b-to-support-other-states-datacenters
- Source link: https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/maryland-citizens-slapped-with-usd2-billion-grid-upgrade-bill-for-out-of-state-ai-data-centers-state-complains-to-federal-energy-regulators-says-additional-cost-breaks-ratepayer-protection-pledge-promises
Extra demand is expected from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois "where demands driven by data centers are projected to grow substantially by 2036," they explain. But that means that Maryland customers "are subsidizing data center-driven transmission buildout by virtue of geographic proximity..." [3] Tom's Hardware explains :
> That means an extra $823 million for residential (approx. $345 per customer), $146 million for commercial (approx. $673 per customer), and $629 million for industrial customers (approx. $15,074 per customer)... "Maryland customers have neither caused the need for these billions in new transmission projects nor will they meaningfully benefit from them," [according to Maryland People's Counsel David S. Lapp]....
>
> This is one of the biggest reasons why many AI hyperscalers are facing pushback from the communities where they intend to place their data centers. At the moment, around [4]69 jurisdictions have passed some sort of moratorium on projects like these , and a survey has shown that [5]nearly half of Americans do not want a data center in their neighborhood . Debates around these projects are passionate, with a [6]few cases turning violent and even [7]resulting in shootings (thankfully, without any casualties), especially as many feel that the construction of these power-hungry assets is threatening their lifestyles and quality of life.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader [8]noshellswill for sharing the news.
[1] https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MDOPC/bulletins/415c9b6
[2] https://opc.maryland.gov/Portals/0/Files/Publications/Others/20260507%20-%20RTEP%20complaint%20-%20FINAL%20932.pdf?ver=g-tF-_4Avtsm8DfgEozavA%3D%3D
[3] https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/maryland-citizens-slapped-with-usd2-billion-grid-upgrade-bill-for-out-of-state-ai-data-centers-state-complains-to-federal-energy-regulators-says-additional-cost-breaks-ratepayer-protection-pledge-promises
[4] https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/ai-data-center-bans-are-rapidly-multiplying-across-the-us-69-jurisdictions-block-new-builds-with-four-moves-noted-as-permanent
[5] https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/survey-shows-that-nearly-half-of-americans-dont-want-new-data-centers-built-near-their-homes-47-percent-oppose-the-construction-of-new-ai-data-centers-in-their-neighborhood
[6] https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/senator-at-center-of-utah-ai-data-center-debate-gets-physical-slaps-phone-out-of-reporters-hand-reporter-covering-cases-of-harassment-against-his-business
[7] https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/indianapolis-politicians-home-shot-at-13-times-over-data-center-dispute-police-and-fbi-investigating-isolated-targeted-incident-after-city-councilor-backed-project
[8] https://slashdot.org/~noshellswill
Not just data centers (Score:1)
The elephant in the room - electric car, truck, and (soon) aircraft charging. Not just data centers....
Re:Not just data centers (Score:5, Informative)
The difference is that electric cars and trucks primarily charge overnight, when the demand for electricity is low.
You don't need to improve the grid capacity to serve people charging when you have excess capacity available.
Re: (Score:1)
during the day, that capacity is being used to power offices, and retail businesses, and air conditioners, and to cook food
Re: (Score:2)
Commercial electric vehicles will charge as needed. Not just at night.
Re: (Score:3)
It's irrelevant anyway since this article is about what's wanted for AI data centres alone. They are rapidly placing enormous demands on the grid that greatly overloads available capacity. In fact, they would've expanded faster if they could've. All for some gimmicky chat bots.
So they should willingly contribute to the public good by wholly paying for not just the expansion they want themselves but also extra. Cover some of EV demands at the same time.
Re: (Score:2)
> So they should willingly contribute to the public good by wholly paying for not just the expansion they want themselves but also extra.
Many of them will eventually, by going out of business. That will cause demand destruction. In the meantime they are like the smelly neighbour who showed up at the party, and everyone just has to hold their nose.
Re: (Score:3)
Just that "as needed" is also going to be mostly at night after the driving shift is over. Still follows the general rule of it's charging when most people aren't using it.
Also makes a case for rates being lower during non-peak hours that will help businesses prioritize charging during those better hours and more appropriately place the costs.
Re: (Score:3)
A former head of AT&T back when it was The Phone Company made a comment along the lines that the long distance network had to be built to cope with with mother's day and everything else was free. It was used as an example of how guesses about CapEx vs OpEx can go very wrong. It might have been Fred Kappel who said that.
Re:Not just data centers (Score:4, Insightful)
I suggest that we aggregate data, and look at facts. Then determine policy based on facts. When those facts don't agree with your world view, don't call them "fake news" and make up policies that will pad your pockets with money.
Re: (Score:3)
Electric vehicles are at least useful.
who is protecting us? (Score:4, Insightful)
this is so awful. where is the last bastion of the people's interests? where is the government who is supposed to protect the people? we need real change here. we need to elect politicians who aren't afraid to put their finger in the chest of these hyperscalers and say i'm talking to you a$$hole.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I believe that the USA is facing its "Hitler" moment, where about 33% of White Nationalists are taking over everybody. They don't seem to care about what is in the United States Constitution, nor about the concept about forming a More Perfect Union. It is pure selfishness.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
You concluded all of that based on AI data centers increasing electricity costs?
Yeah. It will (Score:3, Insightful)
Outside of banning the technology there isn't really a hell of a lot you can do. We are not going to build the capacity because that would require tax dollars from extremely wealthy people and those people run the country so no they're not going to pay for you to have electricity.
Our entire civilization is being slowly dismantled. But how about those trans girls in sports am I right? /s
Re: Yeah. It will (Score:2)
Free Luigi. He has much work to do.
Re: (Score:1)
Violence doesn't work for left-wing causes. The left wing is by nature bad at organizing and following orders and those are what you need to make violence work. Sooner or later any left-wing movement that uses violence turns into a right-wing movement when it inevitably gets taken over from inside by the right wingers.
The left wing is good at being right about basically everything but not good at violence. And that's not going to change because people who are right about things aren't good at following
Re: Yeah. It will (Score:4, Insightful)
> Violence doesn't work for left-wing causes.
Violence doesn't work for political causes, if your objective is anything other than an authoritarian dictatorship.
Re: (Score:2)
There is an intermediate situation that that case arguably illustrated:
Using violence against harder targets is more of an organizational problem; and solving that problem potentially skews your candidate pool; but what's very curious(particularly for a society whose overall violence numbers are very much on the high side by developed world standards) is how safe it apparently is to be widely notorious and a fairly soft target. Thompson was just walking down the sidewalk alone at a predictable time and l
Re: (Score:2)
In this case its the buildout of new transmission lines, which the Maryland customers are having to subsidize. The end users should have to pay for all of that.
Re: (Score:1)
> Our entire civilization is being slowly dismantled. But how about those trans girls in sports am I right?
You just don't get how most normal people see this. It is having some bearded perv be allowed into their teen daughter's change room. Between THAT and higher electricity cost, I'd pick paying more every time.
Re: (Score:1)
> Outside of banning the technology there isn't really a hell of a lot you can do. We are not going to build the capacity because that would require tax dollars from extremely wealthy people and those people run the country so no they're not going to pay for you to have electricity.
> Our entire civilization is being slowly dismantled. But how about those trans girls in sports am I right? /s
This is a completely retarded take. 25 GW of generating capacity were added in 2025, and 86 GW will be added in 2026. [1]https://www.eia.gov/todayinene... [eia.gov] But the data centers and other demands are growing fast too: [2]https://www.eia.gov/todayinene... [eia.gov]
Our civilization is doing just fine, and female sports divisions are for females only. Males can always compete in male sports divisions or coed sports.
[1] https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67205
[2] https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67344
Re: (Score:2)
> Our civilization is doing just fine, and female sports divisions are for females only. Males can always compete in male sports divisions or coed sports.
Especially if you define "doing just fine" as steadily growing wealth inequality that leaves much of the population struggling to cover basic necessities, the abandonment of the rule of law, and accelerating climate change that risks destabilizing the earth's biosphere. If that's how you define it then yeah, our civilization is doing just fine.
Also if you get to define the words "male" and "female". That's key. That other people define them differently than you is proof that your definitions are right an
Re: (Score:2)
You could put solar panels on your roof, rsilvergun. Unless you have a problem with saving the planet.