Data Centers That Don’t Exist Yet Are Already Haunting the Grid
"If the AI hype is overblown or the tech industry doesn’t ultimately need as much electricity as projected, other customers would get stuck with the infrastructure costs." The "other customers" include residential customer who have no alternative to the regulated utility. That's why "Consumer Regulated Electricity" (CRE) is designed to give the data centers an off-grid alternative.
Since CRE is off-grid, there's no need for state utility regulation. Since there's no need for state utility regulation, CRE can develop new projects and innovate at a pace that is simply impossible in the existing utility sector. Speed and innovation (e.g., a grid designed for the 21st century!) should be attractive features to any data sector. And since CRE is off-grid, the "other customers" won't get stuck with the infrastructure costs.
