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by shagie·6mo ago·view on hn ↗
One of the issues that comes up is that the "we're building a data center..." and then power in the area scales up to meet the anticipated demand.

And then the data centers scale back how much they need or decide to not build there and now the local ratepayers are on the hook for the increased capacity that the utilities built out.

The data center would be much more welcome (there are still issues) if they were to make sure that the locals aren't going to pay for unneeded power capacity.

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For others who don't know, this is detailed in this podcast. A change in the way new power generation is funded is starting to happen so the datacenters are more responsible for the costs of the added power plants so they cannot just pull out willy nilly, but in lieu of that, existing customers have had to pay for the power plants in spite of not benefiting in the slightest https://www.npr.org/2025/12/19/nx-s1-5649814/ai-data-center-...