This is John Batchel, talking to my colleague Henry Sikolsky of the Non-Proliferation Policy Education

Center, about the projected demand of the data centers that are popping up like mushrooms

across the purple plane. And who's going to pay for the transmission, Henry asks. You understand. The electricity grid costs money to

maintain, build out, and perfect. You don't just arrive not paying for getting the electricity to you.

So, does the public pay for transmitting electricity to a private company that is demanding more and more electricity?

Good question.

Not resolved yet, I learn.

Here's Henry to explain.

Well, it's not clear it's a bad idea so much as it's a pretty inco-hate idea.

A lot of details are missing.

Generation is only one part of the puzzle.

Who is going to pay for moving the electricity to the data servers with transmission and

distribution?

That normally is two-thirds of the cost of whatever comes out of an electrical circuit

plug in your house.

So that isn't clear as to whether those costs will be included and put on the back of the AI

server demandee.

In addition, it's not clear whether this is a burden on the Googles and the

metas that need this for their servers or a gift, because if you build that into the base

rate, those generation systems, and you say,

well, they'll pay for it, who again necessarily pays for the transmission?

I don't know.

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