Our paper on the effect of data centers shows this, empirically. The impact to retail rates matters not just on the change in market prices from the increased demand, but the current balance between fixed costs and variable costs in the retail rate. conference.nber.org/conf_papers/f2…
Aniruddh Mohan@aniruddh_mohan
Right. Here's a new paper from ESIG/Brattle with a great graphic to cut against simplistic narratives of data centers always increasing/reducing rates for existing customers. TL;DR - it depends. For e.g. your rates can go UP if your utility has not fully hedged. Just ask some ratepayers in PJM! As the paper put it: "The rate impact of large loads is not a foregone conclusion in either direction. It is an empirical question that depends on the specific conditions of the utility system, prevailing market dynamics, market design, regulatory framework, and rate design."
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