Who pays for AI’s power? California watchdog urges new data center rules

A California watchdog group, the Little Hoover Commission, has released a report urging policymakers to act quickly on regulating the state's rapidly growing data center industry. The report warns that the surge in electricity demand from data centers and AI could lead to higher electricity bills for average California households, rather than having the data centers themselves pay for the grid upgrades needed. The report provides over a dozen recommendations for managing the industry's impact on the power grid, electricity prices, and the state's climate goals.