Data center developers are going on offense to combat the perception that they are the chief culprits behind rising electricity bills, Josh Levi, head of the tech industry’s Data Center Coalition, told the POLITICO Energy podcast.
That’s the message from new research the group conducted and shared first with POLITICO that shows the buildout of the huge computing facilities has so far not driven up costs to other consumers — and in some cases has actually lowered electricity rates.
The public push is a response to the rising public opposition to new data centers for artificial intelligence stemming from fears the rapid expansion is feeding soaring power prices and contributing to cost-of-living pressures.
“What we did learn is the absence of really leaning forward with those facts leaves a vacuum,” Levi said. “And that vacuum does get filled with misinformation, with concern, with fear, with other things that probably need to be sorted out in a more fact-based way.”
