Electricity bills

[ChrissyRyan]

Someone out east told me that her electric bill will go up by around 25%.
A significant amount of that increase is because of high electricity demands made by Bitcoin miners and AI computing facilities.

It seems to me that if the utility can identify their costs going up by the Bitcoin miners and AI computing facilities, that they should charge THEM for that direct cost.  Why spread it out to all electric users?

I guess the answer is lobbying and politics.  While there may be some public benefit of the Bitcoin miners and AI computing facilities, it seems like the general public is subsidizing them.  That happens for a lot of things, does not it?

Something does not seem right here.

[Maid Marion]

I live where the electricity is expensive.

That sounds like misinformation.
If you live where electricity is expensive why would someone mine Bitcoin there?
They do Bitcoin mining where electricity is cheap.
You can set up a "Bitcoin factory" anywhere and control it remotely over the Internet.

[Lori Dee]

It seems to me that if the utility can identify their costs going up by the Bitcoin miners and AI computing facilities, that they should charge THEM for that direct cost.  Why spread it out to all electric users?

Electricity, like most utilities, is billed by units of usage. So if someone is using a lot of it, they will pay the higher cost. Those who use little will not pay as much. They can't tell what the service is being used for, only how much is being used. Greenhouses and indoor marijuana grow facilities use a lot of lights and ventilation fans. Places that use a lot of security lights, such as event venues, will also have high usage.

Blaming Bitcoin (or other crypto mining) and AI sounds like propaganda.

[ChrissyRyan]

Apparently upgraded facilities need to be built to accommodate the Bitcoin miners and AI computing facilities.  That costs money.  That cost is being spread out to all users via a 25+% rate increase to all. 

Why not charge the Bitcoin miners and AI computing facilities for these startup costs?

[Lori Dee]

Why not charge the Bitcoin miners and AI computing facilities for these startup costs?

I agree. Companies that use that much energy should install solar panels or generators to power their computers.

[Lori Dee]

In some places (Illinois is one), the power companies have a buy-back program. If you are connected to the grid and generate your own power, it reduces how much you are billed. The electric meter actually runs backward if you are generating more than you use. If the meter goes back into the negative numbers, the power company pays you for the electricity that you contributed to the grid. That's a win-win.

[ChrissyRyan]

In some places (Illinois is one), the power companies have a buy-back program. If you are connected to the grid and generate your own power, it reduces how much you are billed. The electric meter actually runs backward if you are generating more than you use. If the meter goes back into the negative numbers, the power company pays you for the electricity that you contributed to the grid. That's a win-win.

Except some states have limits.  The best you can do there is to get your bill to zero, even though you generated electricity and sent it to the power company. You would not be paid a credit for the excess generated electricity.

Some states do not even offer that.

Beware all these new power plants being setup.  Many power companies are throwing All the risks to their entire customer base.  If they make a plant and it never starts up or fails, all those costs will still be passed to the customers even if they get no new power from those plants. 

Do not get me started on public financing of billionaire owner's sports stadiums.