If it seems like your electricity bill is higher than it’s ever been, you’re probably right.
Underutilization is a problem for companies like Google and Tesla, both of which are deeply invested in data centers to power their AI products. A typical AI-focused hyperscale data center, which hosts at least 5,000 servers, consumes as much electricity as 100,000 households in one year.
“As demand grows, the priority has to be meeting new load without driving up costs for existing customers,” Ellen Zuckerman, who leads energy market development for North and South America at Google said in the statement. “Google is proud to support Utilize’s work to unlock underused capacity so growth in electricity demand translates into broader affordability and system benefits.”
Utilize will be releasing new research conducted by consultancy firm The Brattle Group that shows Americans could save as much as $100 billion over a decade from their proposed system improvements.
A group is designed to be non-partisan and state-focused, according to the statement. They plan to work with governors, state legislatures, regulators, and utility companies to increase grid utilization.
The coalition’s first win may be a grid-utilization bill in Virginia that some of the members backed. The bill has passed both legislative chambers and is awaiting Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s signature. The group is trying to pass similar bills in other states, according to the statement.
