There’s something that’s hard to believe about the local power company’s claims about data centers.
They’re saying that data centers could actually hold down electricity rates for regular residential customers. They made this statement at a Riley County Commission meeting last week; commissioners are trying to study the best way forward on a complicated and difficult issue. Data centers could bring a big bump in tax revenue to local governments, but they also use enormous amounts of electricity because the computer servers inside have to be kept cool with air conditioners. Some also use water as part of the cooling system.
The power company, of course, stands to make money by selling electricity to data centers. But Evergy’s representative told commissioners last week that the revenue from data centers would be used to hold down rates for other users, because it would be directed toward covering the overhead costs that otherwise regular users would have to cover.
True enough. The Kansas Corporation Commission a year ago adopted a rate plan intended to do exactly that by targeting very large power users.
Well…pardon my simple mind, but my recollection from Ec 10 is that when supply ...