The rapid expansion of data centres is placing growing pressure on electricity systems, especially in countries like the United States, where artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital services are expanding at scale. While data centres can be built in less than a year, the power plants and grid upgrades needed to supply them often take several years. This timing mismatch has created a difficult question for regulators and consumers. Who should pay for the cost of building new electricity infrastructure?
Why Data Centres Are Different
Large industrial users are not new to electricity systems. Factories, refineries, and mills have long consumed huge amounts of power. In the past, their construction timelines aligned closely with new power generation projects. Utilities could plan, build new plants, and recover costs once those customers began operating.
Data centres break that pattern. Many modern data centres can be completed within nine to twelve months. By contrast, building a gas-fired power station or a large renewable project with battery storage can take two to four years. Utilities must decide whether to invest in new capacity before knowing for certain how much electricity will actually be needed.
Adding to the uncertainty is rapid technological change. Advances in computing efficiency and artificial intelligence can significantly alter power demand projections. A data centre planned today may use far less electricity than originally forecast, leaving utilities with excess capacity that still needs to be paid for.
The Cost of Uncertainty
If utilities build power plants too early and demand does not materialise, the cost of unused infrastructure often falls on regular households and businesses through higher electricity bills. If utilities delay investment and demand surges, electricity prices can spike due to limited supply.
Three possible groups can carry this risk:
- Utility companies
- Data centre operators
- Existing electricity customers
In practice, utilities often shield themselves from financial risk through regulatory approvals that allow them to pass infrastructure costs on to customers. This leaves regulators with the challenge of deciding how much of the cost should be paid by large new users versus everyday consumers.
Different State Approaches
In the United States, states are experimenting with different regulatory models.
In Kentucky, regulators have conditionally approved new gas-fired power plants. Utilities must later prove the plants are necessary. However, if a data centre project is cancelled or scaled back, it remains unclear who would absorb the costs.
Ohio has taken a more protective approach. Large power users face billing structures that lock in payments based on peak demand levels over time. Even if a data centre reduces usage, it continues to pay for most of the capacity reserved for it. Utilities also require financial guarantees, such as deposits or letters of credit, to reduce the risk of unpaid costs.
Florida regulators have approved contracts requiring data centres to pay for a large share of agreed demand, even if they do not end up using all the electricity.
Can Flexibility Help?
One advantage of data centres is flexibility. Many can reduce power use or shift operations during peak periods. In places like Texas, this flexibility has been monetised, with data centres earning revenue by easing grid pressure.
Some states now require utilities to share excess profits from large customers with regular ratepayers. Missouri, for example, returns a majority of additional revenue from large electricity users back to other customers.
What This Means Going Forward
The growth of data centres is unavoidable, but the way costs are shared will shape public acceptance. If households feel they are subsidising global tech companies, political resistance will grow.
The challenge for regulators is balance. Encouraging digital investment while protecting everyday consumers requires clear contracts, realistic demand forecasts, and fair risk sharing. As electricity systems evolve, the decisions made today will determine who truly pays for powering the digital future.
