Utility Bills Jump By A Third
EQT Corp. Chief Executive Officer Toby Rice told Bloomberg, “We’ve never produced more energy than we’re producing now, but Americans’ energy bills are up over 35%.” This production must be underwritten. The most likely choice is to hit customers with the bill, and they have already begun to face higher charges. And, those are likely to rise by 35% in less than 10 years.
There is, almost certainly, one way to keep the increase much lower. That is the use of natural gas, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. It is part of the tradeoff that has begun. Electricity use in the US rose very little from 2000 to 2022. That has changed completely and will continue to change.
Regulation Issues
Many utilities are regulated, so increases may not occur quickly, if at all. However, capacity expansion has to come from somewhere, and there is no reason to believe regulators or the government will prevent that wave of the future.
The growth of data center electricity needs has become a central focus of the conversation about global warming. The world’s largest tech companies are not going to take their foot off the move to AI. They are competing for market share in what may be the most important technology developed in decades. They have unlimited financial resources but encourage utilities to turn to residential customers to foot the bill.
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