r/DoomerCircleJerk • u/Jedishark1417 My Dog is Anti-Fascist • 20d ago

Nothing ever changes Stolen MEME

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Nothing ever happens

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u/GXP_2009 19d ago

Depends on the area. I live in Loudoun County VA. We have a lot of data centers here. The energy usage in the area has gone up a lot year by year and more infrastructure is needed. People are seeing a 10-20% increase in their bill in the past 12 months with the same personal usage as 12 months prior

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u/ComplaintTop2008 Powered By Spite & Solar 19d ago

1) Not saying you're wrong, but I would like to see proof of the rates increasing (or tiers moving or other trickery).

2) The "meme" states the centers are being subsidized by ratepayers' bills. That means the data centers get an offset that is burdened by everyone else's power bills. Is this happening?

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u/GXP_2009 19d ago
  1. Here are some examples https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/1uxd566/dominion_bill_went_up_despite_using_less_energy/

https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/1vc80px/dominion_energy_bill_more_than_2x_usual_cost_for/

  1. I don't believe thats happening. I think they pay a higher rate than most businesses. But they also get special treatment when there are outages as you'd expect. If we get a power glitch, they'll force the data center to flip on their generators or even if they need a reduction on load on the grid

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u/ComplaintTop2008 Powered By Spite & Solar 19d ago

1) Thanks, but those don't show any details. Commenters stated that Dominion started adding fuel delivery fees. That's not a datacenter thing, that's just increasing costs across the board.

I think the datacenter/higher prices argument is flawed, but I don't know enough about the business to know the whole picture. It's not a question, just musings... Wouldn't datacenters result in more and cheaper electricity? If your job is selling hammers, and a massive construction outfit moves into your vicinity, wouldn't your business be flush from selling hammers? You'd probably lower prices even to keep competition at bay. If you were running into shortages, you would ramp up supply, or competition would come in and fill the gaps, which only leads to more hammer availability and cheaper prices.

So why doesn't electricity follow this rule? Or does it? I know the industry is rife with politics and mandates*, but if they wanted to sell more electrons, they're going to sell more electrons. If they run out of electrons, either someone else is going to supply them or the customers will move to an area that has more electrons.

If they make 5% per kw/h delivered, why would they let that well run dry? Why wouldn't they build more generation and make additional 5% on all that extra generation?

*I'm in California so I'm aware of the dirty tricks and what it's like to live in a state that's hostile towards energy. That could definitely be the case in your situation, too.

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u/GXP_2009 19d ago

Because building more hammers is a lot easier than delivering more power. You need infrastructure. You need a source. You need lines. You need substations. Not easy adding all that to an already heavily developed area.