County with 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

Scope of the County’s Conservation Request

• Email went to all county government facilities (including schools), not just schools, but the headline emphasizes schools.
• Conservation tips (turn off lights, PCs, space heaters) are seen as sensible in isolation but trivial relative to data center demand.
• Multiple comments compare turning off office lights to “a drop in the bucket” vs. multi‑MW data centers.

Electricity Prices and Causes

• Dominion/Virginia rates recently rose sharply, moving from well below average to closer to other states.
• One analysis cited in the thread attributes much of Virginia’s recent price increase to the Virginia Clean Economy Act (renewables build‑out and gas prices), with load growth partly offsetting increases.
• Others argue PJM’s forward capacity market design is a major price driver.
• Several posters say the article strongly implies data centers caused the 25% rate hike without showing causal evidence and call this cherry‑picking or bad journalism.

Role and Impact of Data Centers

• Henrico reportedly has 37 data centers (~2 GW, heading toward 3 GW), roughly equivalent to over a million homes’ load; many see this as inevitably straining local infrastructure and raising shared costs.
• Counterpoint: PJM is a huge grid (tens of millions of customers); focusing on one county ignores broader market mechanics.
• Transmission upgrades and new lines cost billions; critics say these costs are largely socialized onto ratepayers while data center owners privatize profits.
• Some note data centers increasingly sign large solar and other generation deals, but others stress that generation still must be transmitted and integrated.

Policy Proposals and Fairness Debates

• Suggestions: ringfence data center loads, require them to fund new capacity/transmission, or deny interconnection until sufficient clean energy exists.
• Others argue similar rules should apply to all large industrial loads, not just data centers.
• Tension between subsidizing rural grids vs. letting higher‑cost or fire‑prone areas become effectively uneconomic.

AI, Demand, and Public Backlash

• Many view AI/data center growth as a largely unnecessary luxury load compared to basic residential needs, predicting political backlash (“Nana sweats so Zuck can tokenmaxx”).
• Some want the “AI bubble” to burst; others note widespread (often free) consumer AI use and large corporate token spending.

Media and Framing Critique

• Several commenters see 404 Media as broadly anti‑big‑tech/anti‑AI and frame this piece as agenda‑driven: stating correlation, implying causation, and omitting key grid/regulatory context.