US lawmakers in letter to Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta: Your data centers are increasing electricity bills for Americans as … – The Times of India

Three Democratic senators are demanding answers from major tech companies about whether their energy-hungry data centers are driving up electricity costs for ordinary Americans, sending letters to Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and three data center operators. Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut expressed alarm that utility companies are passing billions in infrastructure upgrade costs to consumers while tech firms expand their artificial intelligence operations. “American families bankroll the electricity costs of trillion-dollar tech companies,” the lawmakers wrote, requesting detailed responses by January 12.The investigation targets seven companies total, including data center specialists CoreWeave, Digital Realty and Equinix. The senators cited regions with significant data center activity that have seen electricity price increases as high as 267% over five years, with national household bills…