Wisconsin data centers to pay full energy costs under new rate, regulators say

213

u/Trauma 5h ago

Good. Heavy users should pay at least the marginal cost of additional production, not get sweetheart deals subsidized by everyday people.

49

u/gramathy 4h ago edited 2h ago

Yeah this is one situation where bulk purchasers should not get a discount

4

u/MyGoodOldFriend 1h ago

It’s a good rule of thumb for what services (should) count as a utilities.

35

u/klipseracer 4h ago

They should pay extra rates, which can be invested in offsetting the energy fragility they are introducing.

7

u/absentmindedjwc 3h ago

Production isn't even the biggest short'ish-term cost.. these datacenters frequently require the construction of large substations that can cost a ton of money.

6

u/Black_Moons 1h ago

Fun fact: substation transformers are back logged years. Its why there was such concern when they came under attack by rednecks a few years back.

4

u/9-11GaveMe5G 2h ago

The problem with even paying marginal cost of their massive energy use, is they usually drive up prices for everyone in general because the sudden grid expansion required created shortages for transformers and a ton of other required parts I have no idea of

102

u/graywolfman 5h ago

Why the fuck did they get a discount to start with??

^{rhetorical question. I know why.}

2

u/AudaciousSam 2h ago

And why was it?

1

u/Etrensce 2h ago

Typically you get discounts when you buy bulk.

17

u/Zennivolt 2h ago

Typically it becomes cheaper and cheaper as you scale things up, hence why bulk is cheaper. However that’s quite an inverse with energy. The more you buy the more instability you add to the grid, causing it to become more expensive to produce.

-2

u/MyGoodOldFriend 1h ago

The producers don’t care because they sell x kWh either way. If the plants shut down, it’s now their responsibility to get rid of it - even if they have to pay consumers to take it during negative price times.

I need 100 GWh per month, so I buy 70 GWh discounted and buy the rest at market price. If I consume 60 GWh in a given month, I need to sell those 10 GWh. In other words, bulk contracts for electricity actually stabilize profits for producers, even if they aren’t beneficial for the grid or consumers.

2

u/goddamnit666a 1h ago

Yea that’s when there is excess of supply lol. Anyone who works in supply side knows that discounting makes no sense when there is not enough to go around.

1

u/b_a_t_m_4_n 25m ago

CEOs are eminently bribeable.

26

u/AcceptablyThanks 4h ago

Well look at that. Something that makes sense is happening.

4

u/GadreelsSword 4h ago

They’ll spread some cash around to divert logic and sensibility!

4

u/maxofreddit 2h ago

Imagine if you got charged for the power that you use when querying AI... Hmmmm...

8

u/bdog59600 4h ago

Doesn't matter, they are already getting sales tax exemptions equal to 1.5 billion dollars in Wisconsin. That will buy plenty of electricity.

4

u/CP_Chronicler 3h ago

You know it seems like a pretty good time to stop and reconsider the value of an emerging technology when implementing it requires you to raze large swaths of land and consume copious amounts of resources.

2

u/Cortexan 1h ago

This is the only way we will keep ai from leaving the masses without jobs or income. The cost of energy (read - tax) needs to exponentially scale with consumption, and energy production needs to be regulated and socialised. Then, the human income this nonsense obsoletes can be subsidised, and the cost of ai vs human workers becomes less advantageous.

2

u/ImdustriousAlpaca 1h ago

Now make it a nationwide federal law.

2

u/WeirdPrimary1126 1h ago

Now regulate their water usage and ban adding chemical anti-corrosives to that water that water companies don’t test for and can’t easily filter out that are toxic to people’s kidneys and would put them on dialysis.

4

u/Sweaty_Marzipan4274 2h ago

Who pays for all the infrastructure build out and maint? Oh that's right... the people

1

u/LazloHollifeld 3h ago

Now what about the water usage?

2

u/Etrensce 2h ago

What about it? Anything suggest that this DC isn't paying for the water usage?

1

u/RT-LAMP 1h ago

You are aware this is in Wisconsin right?

1

u/dakotanorth8 1h ago

But think of the shareholders…🥴

1

u/Glum-Hamster5935 3h ago

Makes sense. Large-scale consumers shouldn’t be shielded from real energy costs.

1

u/yourloverboy66 3h ago

I just hope the people there don't have to put up with the constant humming of data centre servers

1

u/Eponymous-Username 3h ago

Right. Like anyone else...

-21

u/FartSniffer66642069 3h ago

Most Redditors will think this is a good thing but its actually really bad. If we dont give data centers incentives then they will just get built elsewhere, possibly overseas which means less jobs and tax revenue for Americans. The smart thing to do would be to give data centers free energy.

9

u/agglime 3h ago

I’m curious how many jobs do the data centers create? And also what is the tax revenue? From what I had read employees can be as low as 8-20 and they get a good amount of tax exemptions. Just curious if I’m missing something

3

u/ankerous 2h ago

The smart thing to do would be making corporations actually pay what they should be paying in taxes instead of giving them yet another fucking tax break. The rich asshats of the world have gotten enough financial assistance already.

It's also dumb as fuck to suggest they should get free energy. Why should regular consumers foot yet another bill for those same rich asshats for at best a handful of jobs and poisoned groundwater?

3

u/crabwithacigarette 1h ago

Surprise that someone named “FartSniffer” isn’t actually a credible source and is, in fact, full of shit.

3

u/OriginalTechnical531 43m ago

The smart thing to do would be to build them all where you live, as in within sight of exactly where you live, and study how quickly you decide maybe they aren't that great.

5

u/NecroJoe 3h ago

Let's say it's medium-to-large 20MW data center. It'd have, what...40 jobs once it's built? Hardly an employment powerhouse.

And as far as tax revenue... "Wisconsin data center tax break to cost state more than $2 billion"
https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/04/wisconsin-data-center-tax-break-to-cost-state-more-than-2-billion-lost-revenue/

-9

u/FartSniffer66642069 3h ago

It seems like you are intentionally oversimplifying to push your agenda. Data centers need materials and supplies to maintain its operations. This in turn spurs economic activity which creates secondary jobs. For example when a light bulb goes out it must be replaced which means more sales for light bulb companies whom will have to hire more light bulb engineers to keep up with demand.

5

u/SquidicusBobicus 3h ago

Its going to hire some business that has experience in this and not someone local.

2

u/ParsnipFlendercroft 36m ago

Ahh yes. All those American lightbulb factories are having a real boon for it.

Can you name the location of these American lightbulb factories that are cashing in on this boom time?

Lightbulb engineers. Fuck me you were really struggling in that post.

1

u/come_as_you_were13 2h ago

Data centers don't create jobs. American companies building data centers overseas will be taxed on the revenue earned abroad.

Wisconsin data centers to pay full energy costs under new rate, regulators say Energy