Here’s the crux of the article for you.
In just two years, starting in 2022, residential electricity prices rose by 10%, while commercial prices increased by only 3%, and industrial electricity prices fell by 2%.
Even if you don’t like or use ai, you’re forced to pay for it
But why is it this way? Why wouldn’t they want to charge both groups more for a higher profit margin?
It’s easier to screw over consumers than businesses.
Busunesses like to complain. They have long-term contracts. They have a lot of purchase power. They’re more likely tp swotch to a competitor. When they threaten, they’re more likely to go through with the threats since they have both money to burn and employees to blackmail with pay cuts.
Among other things.
There’s a lot of consumers, so those that do jump ship usually don’t cause a big dent in profits when they do. Consumers are also less likely to jump ship in the furst place since they have only their extended family and their family lawyer to look out for them (if). They usually have “bigger” problems than the electricity bill: car payments, mortgages, school bills, you name it.
Again, among other things.
I pay 40c/kWh ^^’
But why is it this way? Why wouldn’t they want to charge both groups more for a higher profit margin?
The working class get the ‘get fucked’ tax on top of the costs. Companies get cheap power to make more money.
I’d like to see this graph with the EU power costs. I pay AVG € 0,27 per kWh now. Used to be € 0,20 before the attack on Ukraine began. That’s a 35% increase.
What? I pay around ninety cents! What is this shit.
My electric bill last month would have been $1,700 at that rate. We would just have to freeze to death.
This shit is a failure of local and state governments, and the people who elect them. Now that AI costs are hitting citizen pocket books, many municipalities are fighting back.
“All politics is local.”
In particular, its a failure of state utilities commissions, which have power over electric pricing.
Don’t know about your jurisdiction, but we vote those people in and out around here. Well…
We used to have a quasi-private/public power company. County commissioners voted us out of that. (Still our fault.) We do still have such a water setup. For now.
You’ll find that representative democracy is not all that representative.
Yes, I am Fucking Pissed at my energy bills for the last 6 months. Like WTH. It is like $500 a month vs what was $300 max. I told my husband… it is time to start investing in solar generators. We are getting screwed for some stupid tech boy.
I would love if this creates some kind of decentralized energy network. You know how you can sell your energy back to the grid when you have solar surplus? We should have the option of choosing the rate too. If they don’t want to pay our prices, they don’t need our electricity,
We all have to do our part and stop using AI. It’s time to pop the bubble.
You think they’ll drop those prices when the AI pops?
2024 and 2025 not included in their data.
My city still owns the utilities and the council doubles as the utility board. They’ve been trying to privatize it, but it’s very contentious. Rightly so.
I suspect that it’s always been the case that bigger customers are able to negotiate better prices. 1 car a year vs 1000 cars a year? 200 pounds of bread a year vs. 200 tons of bread?
Also, isn’t a steady state power consumption of a data centre easier to manage than homes flipping toasters on and off? I suppose that the inefficiency drives up the costs for home usage
Civilian bills increase while corporate discounts abound? Ya’ll need to fuck someone up with the 2A.
ok damnit, how many more servers do i need to install…
Indiana price increase in 2025 ~20% (I believe the new rates went into effect in November, and this does not include a base increase for having your house connected to the grid. I believe it was $10/mo increase making that % even larger.
just sayin’ this is still so incredibly cheap… 8c/kwh… australian electricity prices are 24-43c/kwh (obv usd vs aud but the aussie $ isn’t that weak)
It’s almost that time of the year when NY electric rates get hiked up and then get “frozen” to avoid further rate hikes while you conveniently get locked into that higher rate.
God don’t I know it. Looking at 500 dollar a month electric bills and I’m possibly disconnecting my heat pump.
$600 last month to run my heat pump. Can’t really disconnect it because it’s 30 degrees here rn. Awesome
