Commentary

Carolyn A. Berry, Arjun Chadha, Galen Erickson, Sam Malech, Benjamin Sokol

The rapid expansion of data centers is coinciding with rising US electricity prices, fueling public perception that data centers are to blame. The story, however, is more complicated—other factors are also driving price increases. Moreover, data centers and other large load customers can unlock significant electric system value. To leverage data centers and other large load customers to obtain that value, utilities, large load customers, and interested stakeholders should develop a transparent and standardized framework that provides large load customers with the flexibility to optimize their operations while ensuring that they contribute equitable to system costs.