Coalition of Google, Tesla, and Carrier wants to reduce US electricity costs

A coalition of US technology companies – including Google, Tesla, and the climate technology manufacturer Carrier – wants to reduce the rising electricity costs in the USA through better utilization of the existing power grid. Under the name “Utilize,” the coalition argues that the US grid is operated at only 53 percent of its capacity on average, while billions in infrastructure costs are passed on to all consumers.

An independent study by the Brattle Group, commissioned by “Utilize,” is expected to demonstrate that higher utilization could save more than 100 billion US dollars in electricity costs over ten years – an approach that is also relevant to the ongoing debate about grid expansion and energy costs in Germany and Europe, given the exploding electricity demand from AI data centers. In Germany, grid-independent energy concepts for data centers are already being discussed, but they face regulatory hurdles.

High Self-Interest of the Corporations

According to “Utilize,” existing studies indicate that there is still significant untapped potential in the existing power grid. Duke University, in its research on 22 US grid systems, found that 76 to 215 gigawatts of additional capacity could be handled without new infrastructure. Stanford University stated that in the western US power grid, the transmission lines themselves are only utilized at 18 to 52 percent of their capacity even during peak times.

The participating corporations likely have a strong self-interest in the existing grid being used more efficiently. While Tesla sells corresponding technologies for its cars and battery storage to buffer energy, Google is primarily concerned with obtaining faster grid connections for its AI data centers. Recently, the major tech corporations committed to the US government to self-finance the electricity infrastructure to avoid jeopardizing the general supply. Project operators worldwide are struggling with long waiting times, as energy providers often cannot provide grid connections quickly enough. However, pilot projects show that flexible electricity consumption by data centers could accelerate grid connection by avoiding peak loads. Some projects are already moving towards building isolated solutions with their own power plants.

First Success in Virginia

The initiative aims to persuade state by state to increase transparency and research in grid utilization. In the US state of Virginia, it has already succeeded in successfully advocating for a law that obliges utilities to measure and report grid utilization data. Virginia is one of the states where hyperscalers are increasingly encountering regulatory resistance when it comes to the unhindered expansion of computing capacities.

(mki)