Data Centers - will they pay the cost of their power?
Commissioner urges utilities to make data centers pay full cost of service
A Mississippi Public Service Commissioner called on utilities to require large new customers, including data centers, to cover the full cost of facilities built for them.
During the "other business" portion of the commission's open meeting Oct. 7 in Jackson, Commissioner Wayne Carr challenged utility companies on cost practices. "New growth should pay its own way," the commissioner said. "The ratepayer is not a bank to borrow against." The remarks, which appeared to be prepared, called on utilities to review their books "line by line" for potential customer savings, to ensure large new customers bear the cost of facilities built to serve them, and to make contracts and capital spending public.
The comments come as Mississippi courts data centers and other large industrial loads seeking to connect to the grid. Who pays for the transmission and generation needed to serve those customers is a central question in utility regulation, since costs not assigned to new users can otherwise be spread across existing ratepayers. A sitting commissioner publicly pressing utilities on the issue is a position likely to be watched as such projects move through the commission.