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Customers could pay for the cost of data centers without reform

The visitor watches the Gulf at the PA10 data center, managing Equinix Inc., Paris, France, Thursday, February 6, 2025.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Gets the image

In some progressed economies, electrical infrastructure and utilities cost structural changes due to the demand for artificial intelligence to data centers.

In this process, US consumers can pay higher utility bills out of switching costs to sector consumers, warned the latest document Harvard Initiative on Electricity Rights.

Meanwhile, in the UK, residents may experience higher wholesale prices in light of the proposed electricity market reform, which prefer data centers that use renewable energy.

As pricing problems arise, the regulation and reform of the energy network will bring the central scene in the energy price management and meet changes in energy needs.

“Sophisticated” special contracts

Special contracts between utilities and data processing companies – one of the higher costs associated with data centers Harvard Initiative on Electricity Rights In March.

Such contracts “allow an individual consumer to accept services under conditions and conditions that are not available to anyone.” In other words, they can be used to switch costs from data centers to consumers from the subjectivity and complexity in the practice of accounting contracts, the message said.

Moreover, special contracts are approved by the Communal Services Commission, but usually undergo “opaque regulatory processes”, which make it difficult to evaluate whether the cost of data centers for consumer were transferred.

To correct this, in the report, the recommended regulators, enhance the supervision of special contracts or completely get rid of them and choose existing tariff practices.

“Unlike a single special contract, which provides each data center with unique conditions, the tariff guarantees that all data centers are paid under the same conditions, and that the influence of new customers is decided, taking into account the complete picture of the costs and income of usefulness,” the statement said.

Jonathan Kame, a researcher on energy and information technology, agrees with the need to pay the data center according to their use of the energy network.

“In my opinion, the key moment is that very profitable companies that impose the cost of the net with heavy new loads should pay the costs created by these new loads,” Kume CNBC said.

In addition to utility companies and regulators, which intervened in the regulatory process of utilities, they also play an important role, “Kumi said.

Intervention May include a specific group of components or major commercial or industrial customers involved in the materials. They can raise questions regarding customer service and accessibility, and ultimately allow the commissions to hear from the wide stakeholder group.

“They can often dig deeper than overloaded regulators into forecasts and technical details, and identify key issues that have not yet emerged in the normative processes,” the dumpling added.

Restructured infrastructure?

Another factor affecting the price of usefulness is the excessive development of energy infrastructure.

Utilities and pipeline companies in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia plan “The main construction of natural gas infrastructure over the next 15 years,“Potentially based on overestimation of load forecasts at the data center, in January the report of the Institute of Energy and Financial Analysis.

Specific solutions from utilities and regulators are necessary to prevent the “hook” payers for rebuilt infrastructure, IEFA said.

Politicians in different states have taken many measures to stimulate, restrain and regulate data development centers, from tax benefits to legislative bills, with a focus on providing consumers that are not at the data center Gibson Dan Dan Dan dating centers and digital infrastructure practice.

Zonal pricing

In the UK, data and consumer processing centers are facing a different price task against the background of the government’s plans to convert the electricity market into a country into decarbonized, cost -effective and safe electricity.

Zonal pricing scheme studied in government Review Agreements on Electricity Markets will mark the deviation from uniform prices to the electricity split. Within new consumers in different geographical areas will be subordinated to different wholesalers on electricity based on marginal costs for demand for satisfaction in this place.

Modeling From the Consulting Firm Lane Clark and Pailock suggests that North Scotland will experience lower wholesale prices from their high renewable sources and relatively low demand.

The rest of the UK, which is 97% of the national demand for electricity, is ready to see the rise in wholesale prices pricing.

The impact on retail prices is still muddy.

“It is unclear how this may affect the retail prices, since wholesale prices are only one part of the overall electricity account for consumers, and Desnz must make different decisions,” according to the joint comments of Sam Holist, the head Clark, LCP delata.

Desnz is the UK energy security and Net Zero.

Do you benefit the data centers?

While technology firms appear on board with Low costs that zonal prices can offer based on A study of the analytical tank According to Holistra and gift.

They may be well suited for zonal pricing, include the premises of the data centers that process the loads that can be shifted in time or place, they said.

AI training for deep learning models is one of these examples. Such loads can be scheduled for hours when electricity prices can be lower and synchronized with periods of excess wind or solar energy, which will reduce costs and facilitate the network overload.

Similarly, data centers that do not need to be close to large urban centers or end users, those who support hyper-storage, cloud and large-scale data storage or scientific computing are also benefiting from cheaper electricity when located in high-level regions Gift.

However, “not all AI loads are flexible-remedies in real-time, such as those used in chat, detection of fraud or autonomous vehicles, require immediate treatment and do not take time changes,” they added.

Applications that are delayed, such as financial and streaming and streaming transfer in real time that require close proximity to users will also find zonal prices “less viable”.

Increasing network infrastructure

Fans of zonal pricing indicate the benefits of reducing the need for long -distance energy.

But with the plans of the national energy system to increase networking capabilities and connecting more seawater, the orientation of the network infrastructure is important, “and zonal prices do not eliminate these requirements”, according to data Holist and gift.

“It is not only the data centers that will need this additional container on the network, they are probably the loudest, but EV Charging will change the network. The national network as an organization told about changes in demand with EVS for a long time,” said David Myton, a resistant calculation, said CNBC.

Requirements for the energy network delivered by electrification of vehicles is a problem shared in the US and UK

In the USA, Electric vehicles will make more than half of all new cars sold by 2030 And it is set to place significant tension on the older energy system.

While consuming electricity data centers of data processing grows in growth, report National Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley Published in December, it is noted that this is played against “much more demand for electricity, which is expected to be over the next few decades from the combination of electric vehicles, overcoming production, hydrogen use and electrification of industry and buildings.”

Given this, infrastructure and regulatory reforms that get out of data management centers will be useful for a quick supply change in electricity Mythton and Comrades -Researchers.

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