As brutal winter storms sweep across the United States, nearly a million people are losing power, all while electricity prices explode to catastrophic levels. In some regions, wholesale power prices surged to $1,800 per megawatt-hour simply because energy-hungry data centers drove demand far beyond what the grid could handle during extreme cold.
This isn't a natural disaster problem, it's a policy failure.
In states like Virginia, home to the world's largest cluster of data centers, electricity demand is shattering winter records as grid operators warn of historic strain. Meanwhile, residents face blackouts, skyrocketing utility bills, and serious danger in freezing temperatures.
Sign now to demand that regulators stop letting data centers overwhelm the grid while ordinary people pay the price.
Data centers that power artificial intelligence and cloud computing use enormous amounts of electricity, and that demand doesn't slow down when the grid is under extreme stress. During winter storms, utilities are forced to buy emergency power at sky-high prices, and those costs are passed directly to families.
Electricity rates are already rising, with prices up more than 5% in just one year. In communities near major data center hubs, power costs have increased by hundreds of percent in only a few years. All of this is happening while families across multiple states lose heat and power during dangerous winter storms.
This isn't inevitable, and it isn't fair.
Some states are showing that action is possible. Oregon now requires data centers to pay for the strain they put on the grid, and utilities are testing special rates for massive energy users. But voluntary measures aren't enough.
Regulators must step in now to make data centers pay their fair share, fund grid upgrades, and reduce demand during extreme weather. Sign the petition to demand action before the next storm hits.
