FERC Undermines Trump’s Useless Big Tech Ratepayer Pledge

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last night issued orders that approved transmission rate agreements with data centers that explicitly put households at risk for hikes in the rates they pay for electricity.

The FERC orders approved bilateral electric transmission rate agreements between Exelon’s ComEd utility and five different data centers, four of which Public Citizen intervened as a party (PowerHouse, owned by American Real Estate Partners; Tract’s Grundy County Power in Morris, Illinois; Equinix; and Blackstone’s QTS).

In response, Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program, issued the following statement:

“The Commission’s orders show what a total sham Trump’s Big Tech pledge is for protecting consumers. These reckless FERC orders are designed to quickly rubber stamp agreements with utilities and data centers with zero guaranteed protection that household consumers won’t be exposed to unjust and unreasonable price hikes.

“As acknowledged in Commissioner Judy Chang’s concurrence in support of the order, FERC’s acceptance of the transmission rate agreements rely on the fact that they were between ‘sophisticated parties who negotiated them freely at arm’s length,’ but did not investigate whether the contracts themselves could result in unjust and unreasonable cost shifts onto other customers such as households.

“While the agreements between the utility and the data centers result in the data centers making certain financial payments that attempt to cover the utility’s revenue requirements, Chang’s concurrence plainly concludes that they do not insulate rate hikes for household consumers should those costs change during the duration of the agreement. Utility obligations and commitments within its service territory can change dramatically – especially with the onslaught of data centers – where the estimated revenue requirements negotiated today could prove insufficient in the near future, exposing households to rate hikes from any revenue shortfall. All FERC had to do was hold formal hearings and investigate any needed changes to ensure households would be protected. Instead, FERC rushed the orders in order to prioritize expediency for data center developers at the expense of protecting consumers.

“Last night’s orders expose FERC and the Trump administration unprepared and unwilling to address America’s energy affordability crisis.”