Winter Is Coming... For Your Electricity Bill! AI Data Centers Are Raising Prices!

Fire and Blood... And Electricity Bills?!

My loyal subjects Daenerys Targaryen First of Her Name Queen of Meereen Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar Protector of the Realm Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons speaks to you! It seems a new threat looms not from the Iron Throne (for I shall reclaim it!) but from... data centers? Yes those soulless temples of artificial intelligence are apparently guzzling electricity like Drogon devours sheep and guess who's footing the bill? You are! According to whispers from across the Narrow Sea both in the United States and the United Kingdom these digital dragons are driving up electricity prices. Is nothing sacred?!

Special Contracts: More Opaque Than a Lannister's Schemes

I've dealt with shadier deals in the back alleys of Qarth than these 'special contracts' the Harvard Electricity Law Initiative speaks of. Apparently these contracts allow data centers to negotiate terms that shift costs onto the common folk. It's like Joffrey deciding to tax the poor to fund his wine binges! Regulators are supposed to oversee this but it seems they are as easily swayed as Cersei with a glass of Arbor Gold. Jonathan Koomey wisely suggests that these 'highly profitable companies' pay for the costs they incur. Hear hear!

Overbuilt Infrastructure: A Dragon's Hoard Gone to Waste?

Building too much infrastructure based on inflated forecasts? Sounds like Robert Baratheon planning a feast for a thousand when only fifty showed up! This Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis report suggests utilities are overestimating data center needs potentially leaving us the ratepayers to pay for pipelines we don't even need. As I always say 'When I take what is mine I will do so with fire and blood.' Perhaps a little less fire and blood and a bit more foresight would be prudent here.

Zonal Pricing: A Game of Zones?

In the U.K. they're considering 'zonal pricing,' which sounds like a new game they play in the brothels of King's Landing. Different zones different prices. Apparently Northern Scotland with its abundance of renewable energy might actually see lower prices. The rest of the U.K. however might be facing higher bills. Will these data centers benefit? It depends apparently on whether they can shift their workloads around like Varys shifts allegiances.

Not All AI Is Created Equal: Chatbots vs. Hyperscale

It seems some AI tasks are more flexible than others. Training deep learning models? Sure you can schedule that for off peak hours like planning a Dothraki raid. But real time inference tasks like chatbots and autonomous vehicles? Those need immediate processing which means more electricity which means higher prices. Much like a dragon cannot wait to burninate its prey it seems some AI are as impatient.

Boosting the Grid: More Power!

Ultimately we need a stronger energy grid. Think of it as fortifying the Red Keep against a siege. The National Energy System Operator is planning to increase network capability but David Mytton a researcher in sustainable computing points out that it's not just data centers; electric vehicles are also going to strain the grid. As the Mother of Dragons I suggest focusing on the bigger picture; EV charging onshoring of manufacturing hydrogen utilization and the electrification of industry and buildings. It's time to strengthen our infrastructure lest we find ourselves at the mercy of these technological dragons!