this post was submitted on 18 May 2026
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Well of course they should pay for their own power!! They’re private companies! What am I missing here?

“ Data centers must pay for the grid upgrades they require and can’t siphon power from existing power plants, according to the bill. It also directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to update its rules related to transmission lines — which transport electricity — to allow data centers to reduce demand during peak energy hours. “

This seems reasonable to me.

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[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 25 points 6 days ago

Not just pay for their own power, TAX THE FUCK OUT OF THEM.

They're in a hurry because there's a FUCKTON of cash in it, we need to TAX them like we ACTUALLY KNOW THAT.

[–] Grumpus_Maximus@thelemmy.club 16 points 6 days ago

This country is completely dysfunctional.

[–] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I don't understand. Did we not already have that rule?

[–] danielton1@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

No, electricity bills have been skyrocketing all over the US because electric companies have been passing the costs incurred by AI data centers onto the nearby residents. The AI companies don't want to pay for it.

[–] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 1 points 5 days ago

In most countries, utilities are required to build the infrastructure and offer service.

[–] quick_snail@feddit.nl 10 points 6 days ago (1 children)

That's shit.

We need it to be renewable power.

[–] wavebeam@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

if they have to pay for it, so will they.

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 12 points 6 days ago

We can’t afford the pedophile class anymore

[–] santa@sh.itjust.works 10 points 6 days ago

Same should go for any utility.

[–] NGC2346@sh.itjust.works 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Please don't let this blasphemy go. They're using your fresh water, at your expense, for THEIR benefits. For AI clankers who cant fix an Excel sheet properly.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

Even better, they are using OUR money to put everyone they possibly can out of work.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Or in other words, as the cons would say - Schiff and other Democrats are extremists.

[–] randompasta@lemmy.today 111 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Fuck it. Make them use renewables as well.

[–] quick_snail@feddit.nl 4 points 6 days ago

I'd say make them fund the creation of power plants that will produce 200% of their 24 hour usage in 24 hours.

They shouldn't just make what they use. They should be improving the communities where they operate.

[–] SippyCup@lemmy.world 79 points 1 week ago (1 children)

One step further.

Data centers must provide more clean energy to the grid than they remove.

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[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 64 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Pay!? Make them BUILD 2x the capacity they need and give the rest away to the grid. Don't let them get away with using money to escape the social consequences of their choices. The responsibility to ensure they have no impact should be forced to be theirs and theirs alone.

Write laws that make them cease to exist if they don't do this.

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 36 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Given we have the technology, any new construction should be required to be environmentally neutral at a minimum, ideally with ongoing improvement.

If they need to use millions of gallons of groundwater? Great, go fucking wild, but directly fund managed aquifer recharge projects to replace that groundwater at an equal or greater rate.

Increases in resource consumption should be covered entirely by the data center plus improvements to benefit the community.

No longer should big business be used as a means to siphon the value of labor and natural resources and concentrate it for selfish use by the worst of humanity.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 days ago

Concrete is recyclable, but usually isn't because of sortation costs and concrete accounts for something like 7% of Global emissions.

[–] TheGoldenV@lemmy.world 59 points 1 week ago (1 children)

How about pay for ALL the power?

[–] kylie_kraft@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Nah, I think we should give them all the power. All at once.

[–] Elshender@sh.itjust.works 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)
[–] SippyCup@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago

Well if we deliver too much power all at once it'll.... Ooooooooooh.

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[–] Mulligrubs@lemmy.world 47 points 1 week ago

How is this not the default?

We are doomed, what a bunch of clowns

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 46 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Why aren’t they paying for their own power?

[–] wolfpack86@lemmy.world 26 points 6 days ago

They're not paying for additive demand. If grid updates or plant expansions cost $1b then that's distributed across all customers equally based on their consumption. So let's say there's 1m customers and the utility spread the costs over 10 years... $100 more per customer assuming equal consumption across.

Schiff is proposing the data center itself is saddled with the $1b and all other customers bills are held flat.

[–] Bakkoda@lemmy.world 26 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Free market bro. People have a market and you just show up and take what ya want.

After you’ve already made a billion.

Because it's cheaper to bribe officials to make the locals pay for it.

[–] FiniteBanjo@feddit.online 29 points 1 week ago

Data Centers should be forced to pay to return the cost of power by consumers to normal. So as Datacenters buy power at the going rate, increasing price, they will also subsidize consumers to the point that power costs are the same as if there were no Datacenter.

Also, LLMs are worthless and will burn life away from this planet.

[–] wide_eyed_stupid@lemmy.world 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I don't get it. Why aren't they already paying for their power? Why is this bill necessary? It sounds like common fucking sense to me, so why isn't that the default?

So who's paying for their power now?

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 1 points 6 days ago

"common sense" doesn't mean legislation isn't necessary, what kind of logic is that?

[–] charonn0@startrek.website 17 points 1 week ago (4 children)

They do pay for their power. The bill would require them to pay for grid upgrades that their usage makes necessary.

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[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago

Do water too.

[–] Gates9@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 week ago (6 children)

I hear data centers are exceedingly vulnerable to sabotage

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[–] fox2263@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It amazes me that they don’t. You’d think it would be ideal in fact so they can be self sufficient.

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[–] anon_8675309@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

If I’m not sharing the dollars, I’m not paying for the volts.

Or the stuff that transmits/makes the volts.

But data center owners will sue and it’ll go to the SC and they’ll rule corporations are citizens and therefore tax payers pay.

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