The Maryland city is well over an hour’s drive from the northern Virginia region known as Data Center Alley. But Kevin Stanley, a 57-year-old who survives on disability payments, says his energy bills are about 80% higher than they were about three years ago. “They’re going up and up,” he said. “You wonder, ‘What is your breaking point?’”
It’s an increasingly dramatic ripple effect of the AI boom as energy-hungry data centers send power costs to records in much of the US, pulling everyday households into paying for the digital economy.

https://archive.ph/eCQ6k#selection-1435.0-1439.200

 

The Trump plan is to build more high cost coal-fired and nuclear power plants.

3 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

The Trump plan is to build more high cost coal-fired and nuclear power plants.

Sounds like the correct solution, since "green" power cant cut it.

4 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

The Maryland city is well over an hour’s drive from the northern Virginia region known as Data Center Alley. But Kevin Stanley, a 57-year-old who survives on disability payments, says his energy bills are about 80% higher than they were about three years ago. “They’re going up and up,” he said. “You wonder, ‘What is your breaking point?’”
It’s an increasingly dramatic ripple effect of the AI boom as energy-hungry data centers send power costs to records in much of the US, pulling everyday households into paying for the digital economy.

https://archive.ph/eCQ6k#selection-1435.0-1439.200

 

The Trump plan is to build more high cost coal-fired and nuclear power plants.

And is his house connected to the AI offices over an hours drive away by a long extension cord?

 

If it is, then I can see why his electricity bill is higher. If it isn't, then the problem is that of the electricity supplier, and everybody's bill would be much higher.

 

From the OP, nobody else seems to be complaining.

 

 

37 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Sounds like the correct solution, since "green" power cant cut it.

Still thinking like it it's 2015

1 minute ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Still thinking like it it's 2015

Wind and solar didnt cut it then, wont cut it now. Drill baby drill

9 minutes ago, billd766 said:

And is his house connected to the AI offices over an hours drive away by a long extension cord?

 

If it is, then I can see why his electricity bill is higher. If it isn't, then the problem is that of the electricity supplier, and everybody's bill would be much higher.

 

From the OP, nobody else seems to be complaining.

 

 

"The utilities pay for grid projects over decades, typically by raising prices for everyone connected to the grid. But suddenly, technology companies want to build so many data centers that utilities are being asked to spend a lot more money a lot faster. Lawmakers, regulators and consumer groups fear that households and smaller companies could be stuck footing these mounting bills."

https://archive.ph/WEfKf#selection-895.0-895.384

23 minutes ago, Alan Zweibel said:

"The utilities pay for grid projects over decades, typically by raising prices for everyone connected to the grid. But suddenly, technology companies want to build so many data centers that utilities are being asked to spend a lot more money a lot faster. Lawmakers, regulators and consumer groups fear that households and smaller companies could be stuck footing these mounting bills."

https://archive.ph/WEfKf#selection-895.0-895.384

So whats your point? Make the companies pay. Evem better, get out of their way and let them put modular nuke plants at their data centers

29 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Wind and solar didnt cut it then, wont cut it now. Drill baby drill

 

Clean Nuclear is the way to go!

China has massive solar farms, wind, cheap Russian oil, and the Three Gorges Dam to provide cheap energy for both their industries and AI Data Centres. So it can be done.

 

 

2 hours ago, Yagoda said:

Wind and solar didnt cut it then, wont cut it now. Drill baby drill

What's like like back in the year 2000? Got yourself the latest Blackberry?

 

92.5% of New Power Capacity Added Worldwide in 2024 Was from Renewables

 Solar power alone accounted for 77.3% of the renewable industry’s growth (452 GW), as it increased 32.2% year over year. It rose to 1,865 GW of total installed capacity. Wind power installations grew by 11.1% year over year (113 GW), accounting for 19.3% of the world’s new renewable power capacity.

https://cleantechnica.com/2025/03/26/92-5-of-new-power-capacity-added-worldwide-in-2024-was-from-renewables/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

6 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

The Maryland city is well over an hour’s drive from the northern Virginia region known as Data Center Alley. But Kevin Stanley, a 57-year-old who survives on disability payments, says his energy bills are about 80% higher than they were about three years ago. “They’re going up and up,” he said. “You wonder, ‘What is your breaking point?’”
It’s an increasingly dramatic ripple effect of the AI boom as energy-hungry data centers send power costs to records in much of the US, pulling everyday households into paying for the digital economy.

https://archive.ph/eCQ6k#selection-1435.0-1439.200

 

The Trump plan is to build more high cost coal-fired and nuclear power plants.

Will increasing the supply bring down prices for the people? 

6 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

The Maryland city is well over an hour’s drive from the northern Virginia region known as Data Center Alley. But Kevin Stanley, a 57-year-old who survives on disability payments, says his energy bills are about 80% higher than they were about three years ago. “They’re going up and up,” he said. “You wonder, ‘What is your breaking point?’”
It’s an increasingly dramatic ripple effect of the AI boom as energy-hungry data centers send power costs to records in much of the US, pulling everyday households into paying for the digital economy.

https://archive.ph/eCQ6k#selection-1435.0-1439.200

 

The Trump plan is to build more high cost coal-fired and nuclear power plants.

I think it is more correct to say Microsoft and Alphabet are planning the power stations not the President.

2 hours ago, billd766 said:

And is his house connected to the AI offices over an hours drive away by a long extension cord?

 

If it is, then I can see why his electricity bill is higher. If it isn't, then the problem is that of the electricity supplier, and everybody's bill would be much higher.

 

From the OP, nobody else seems to be complaining.

 

 

I'm on the same power grid.  I have not seen an 80% increase in prices. 

1 hour ago, phetphet said:

China has massive solar farms, wind, cheap Russian oil, and the Three Gorges Dam to provide cheap energy for both their industries and AI Data Centres. So it can be done.

 

 

When they were building the Three Gorges dams that accounted for 75% of the total of the world's production of cement. Nothing was cheap about that.

Australia is going down the lunacy of renewables . The Prime Minister said many times that this would result in a reduction of $250 a year in people's electricity bill. It's gone up by 50-75%.

This what AI said. 

 

Electric prices in Maryland are increasing due to a combination of regional market dynamics, power plant retirements, and growing demand. A primary driver is the significant spike in PJM Interconnection's capacity market auction prices, which rose over 800% for the delivery year starting June 2025, leading to substantial cost increases for customers. This spike is attributed to the planned retirement of older fossil fuel plants, such as Talen Energy's Brandon Shores and Wagner plants, which are being required to continue operating past their retirement dates under a "reliability must run" (RMR) arrangement to maintain grid stability. These RMR costs are expected to add approximately $159 million annually to BGE customers' bills, resulting in an average monthly increase of $5

2 minutes ago, Fact said:

This what AI said. 

 

Electric prices in Maryland are increasing due to a combination of regional market dynamics, power plant retirements, and growing demand. A primary driver is the significant spike in PJM Interconnection's capacity market auction prices, which rose over 800% for the delivery year starting June 2025, leading to substantial cost increases for customers. This spike is attributed to the planned retirement of older fossil fuel plants, such as Talen Energy's Brandon Shores and Wagner plants, which are being required to continue operating past their retirement dates under a "reliability must run" (RMR) arrangement to maintain grid stability. These RMR costs are expected to add approximately $159 million annually to BGE customers' bills, resulting in an average monthly increase of $5

Build more high efficiency low emissions coal plants is any easy and cheaper option than renewables

1 minute ago, emptypockets said:

Build more high efficiency low emissions coal plants is any easy and cheaper option than renewables

Just get rid of the pointless/dangerous so called AI!

1 minute ago, emptypockets said:

Build more high efficiency low emissions coal plants is any easy and cheaper option than renewables

Yep, they need to increase power generation to keep the data centers operational.

1 minute ago, DezLez said:

Just get rid of the pointless/dangerous so called AI!

Why is it dangerous or pointless? 

4 minutes ago, Fact said:

Yep, they need to increase power generation to keep the data centers operational.

For whose benefit? What exactly is a data centre? A repository of everyone's data? For what reason?

Total control of humankind eventually?

I must admit I struggle with the reasons and need for such places. One thing I am sure of though it won't be for the benefit of the average person.

 

As the old saying goes... knowledge is power.

 

Just now, emptypockets said:

For whose benefit? What exactly is a data centre? A repository of everyone's data? For what reason?

Total control of humankind eventually?

A data center is where companies host their servers.  Which stores data?   Northern Virginia is the dominant center for internet infrastructure.   You can't throw a rock in Ashburn without hitting a data center. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

So whats your point? Make the companies pay. Evem better, get out of their way and let them put modular nuke plants at their data centers

 Apart from the fact that they don't exist, that's a great idea. 

What Is An SMR, Anyway?
Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are the nuclear industry’s latest shiny dream. It is more hope than strategy. SMRs only exist in the imagination of the nuclear industry and its supporters. SMRs can only be found on glossy PowerPoint slides. That is why Mycle Schneider, author of the annual World Nuclear Industry Status Report, dubbed SMRs “PowerPoint reactors” in 2020. There are no engineering plans, no blueprints, no working prototypes. 

https://www.theenergymix.com/the-nuclear-mirage-why-small-modular-reactors-wont-save-nuclear-power/

 

Small modular nuclear reactors: a history of failure

Small modular reactors (SMRs) have been the subject of endless hype in recent years but in fact, no SMRs have ever been built, none are being built now and in all likelihood none will ever be built because of the prohibitive costs.

SMRs are defined as reactors with a capacity of 300 megawatts (MW) or less with serial factory production of reactor components (or ‘modules’). No SMRs have been built, but dozens of small (<300 MW) power reactors have been built in numerous countries, without factory production of reactor components.

https://www.climateandcapitalmedia.com/small-modular-nuclear-reactors-a-history-of-failure/

 

Small modular nuclear reactors: a history of failure

The collapse of NuScale’s project should spell the end for small modular nuclear reactors
Although there were problems specific to the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems project, the financial challenges and cost trends witnessed in that case will afflict any SMR project...

The estimated costs of the project rose to $4.2 billion in 2018, then $6.1 billion in 2020, and finally $9.3 billion in 2023, after it was scaled down to 462 MW in 2021. In the end, the costs were clearly too high for UAMPS members to bear.

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nuscale-uamps-project-small-modular-reactor-ramanasmr-/705717/

 

 

4 minutes ago, Fact said:

A data center is where companies host their servers.  Which stores data?   Northern Virginia is the dominant center for internet infrastructure.   You can't throw a rock in Ashburn without hitting a data center. 

 

 

Also known, illogically, as the "cloud"

where all your data, if you allow them, is stored.

 

I recall Bill Gates as saying a few years ago that his "dream" was that a PC user wouldn't be able to tell the difference between working locally on a PC and working on the internet. Seamless and indistinguishable.

Someone wants and will use your data.

Just now, emptypockets said:

Also known, illogically, as the "cloud"

where all your data, if you allow them, is stored.

Yes, that is correct.  

31 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Australia is going down the lunacy of renewables . The Prime Minister said many times that this would result in a reduction of $250 a year in people's electricity bill. It's gone up by 50-75%.

Energy facts: Victoria continues to deliver the cheapest electricity across Australia
A spotlight on how Victoria’s renewable energy generation lowers electricity prices.

The Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) Quarterly Energy Dynamics report, released on 30 January 2025, has confirmed that Victoria continues to have the lowest wholesale electricity prices across Australia.

Across Q4 2024, Victoria’s prices dropped to $45 per megawatt hour, almost half the average cost of $88/MWh across Australia, and were the lowest of any National Electricity Market (NEM) region.

The report found that compared with Q3, 2024, prices in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania – all states with high renewable energy generation – had decreased significantly, while those in the NEM’s northern regions increased.

https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/about-energy/news/news-stories/energy-facts-renewables-and-electricity-prices

 

Quarterly Energy
Dynamics Q4 2024

https://www.aemo.com.au/-/media/files/major-publications/qed/2024/qed-q4-2024.pdf?la=en

33 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Build more high efficiency low emissions coal plants is any easy and cheaper option than renewables

Wherever did you come up with the ludicrouos idea that coal plants were cheaper than solar or wind. In fact, building a new solar generating facility is often cheaper than continuing to run a coal-fired power plant.

https://www.lazard.com/media/uounhon4/lazards-lcoeplus-june-2025.pdf

56 minutes ago, Fact said:

Will increasing the supply bring down prices for the people? 

It depends on the cost of building the power plants, cost of building new transmission facilities, and the cost of the energy source. 

3 hours ago, Yagoda said:

So whats your point? Make the companies pay. Evem better, get out of their way and let them put modular nuke plants at their data centers

OK. Who takes responsibility for the  damages that occur if and when there is a nuclear energy incident such as a leak?

Where will the nuclear waste go? Can they store it in your home?

 

 

6 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Energy facts: Victoria continues to deliver the cheapest electricity across Australia
A spotlight on how Victoria’s renewable energy generation lowers electricity prices.

The Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) Quarterly Energy Dynamics report, released on 30 January 2025, has confirmed that Victoria continues to have the lowest wholesale electricity prices across Australia.

Across Q4 2024, Victoria’s prices dropped to $45 per megawatt hour, almost half the average cost of $88/MWh across Australia, and were the lowest of any National Electricity Market (NEM) region.

The report found that compared with Q3, 2024, prices in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania – all states with high renewable energy generation – had decreased significantly, while those in the NEM’s northern regions increased.

https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/about-energy/news/news-stories/energy-facts-renewables-and-electricity-prices

 

Quarterly Energy
Dynamics Q4 2024

https://www.aemo.com.au/-/media/files/major-publications/qed/2024/qed-q4-2024.pdf?la=en

Wholesale prices are very misleading and bear little resemblance to what the end use actually pays.

6 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Wherever did you come up with the ludicrouos idea that coal plants were cheaper than solar or wind. In fact, building a new solar generating facility is often cheaper than continuing to run a coal-fired power plant.

https://www.lazard.com/media/uounhon4/lazards-lcoeplus-june-2025.pdf

Again, these numbers distort reality.

It is much cheaper to build a new coal station on an existing site so that existing infrastructure such as distribution lines can be reused. Building renewable generation costs a lot more as they are mostly/all greenfield sites with no infrastructure. While the actual cost of generation for solar is very low, basically free, the expense to get there is huge and has to be paid for. By the consumer . As we are now experiencing in Australia.