Energy affordability is a top issue for women nationwide. Although data centers are blamed for raising our utility bills, states’ Green New Deal-esque plans deserve more scrutiny. Virginia is Exhibit A.
Virginia is home to the most data centers in the United States, but it has lower electricity rates than blue states. The state’s average cost of electricity is 15.41 cents per kilowatt-hour — a rate that’s 11% lower than the national average (17.24 c/kWh). An Institute for Energy Research report determined that the number of data centers doesn’t “correlate with current electricity prices.” Nonetheless, Virginians are still experiencing frustrating electricity rate increases. But it’s not the growing number of data centers that deserves the blame.
Independent Women’s new “Reclaiming Affordability” report examines how states have near-exclusive power to regulate electricity within their borders. Congress delegated this power to states under the Federal Power Act of 1935. As a result, states control their own decisions about the creation of generation portfolios, retail price regulation, and green energy mandates.