Connecting data centers to the power grid in Illinois could cost ComEd more than $3 billion, according to the latest estimates. Data centers are the subject of an increasingly heated debate across the United States.
There is pressure for regulations that would, among other things, require operators to pay for the energy and water resources they use. Documents filed by ComEd in an ongoing regulatory case in Illinois indicate that the new infrastructure and system upgrades needed to connect 30 data centers to the grid will cost $3.1 billion. Some of these projects are already connected, and the rest are expected to come online by 2031.
However, beyond the costs of generating new power, consumer advocates warn that the cost of the infrastructure needed to connect data centers to ComEd’s grid will be partly covered by households and small businesses in the northern part of the state. ComEd denies those claims. Data center developers have paid $721 million in deposits, which is just under 25% of the total cost.
Consumer organizations, including the Citizens Utility Board and the Environmental Law & Policy Center, say this could result in a potential shortfall of $2 billion that would be spread across ordinary customers’ bills. ComEd says the consumer groups’ analysis left out $1.1 billion secured through lines of credit that guarantee payment of data center fees for 10 years. The $3.1 billion cost comes from two parts of the electricity delivery system: transmission and distribution. Both involve using poles and wires to move electricity from one place to another, but at different stages of the process.
Transmission lines carry high-voltage electricity over long distances, along highways and across state lines, from power plants to local substations, where it can be converted to lower-voltage power. Distribution lines then deliver that power to the homes and businesses that use it. The costs of connecting a data center are split roughly evenly: transmission costs are projected at $1.6 billion and distribution costs at $1.5 billion. Transmission costs for several individual projects each exceed $100 million, with just one project expected to cost $289 million and another $269 million.
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Source: Polski.FM
