Rising Electricity Rates: How Much Watanabe, Hardy & Park’s Votes Cost You
Santa Clara’s mayoral candidates are debating rising Silicon Valley Power rates, which have increased as the city expands energy capacity to support growing data center demand. Council Member Karen Hardy plans to propose a moratorium on new data center construction and utility permits, along with a ban on confidential agreements between city officials and private technology developers.
Santa Clara’s electricity demand has risen 25% since 2019, prompting Silicon Valley Power to plan $459 million in expansion that would double the city’s energy capacity. Residents’ power bills have also increased 56% over the past decade, while mayoral candidates Karen Hardy, Kathy Watanabe and Kevin Park have supported most of the utility’s rate increases during their council tenures.
The issue has become central to the local election and the city’s data center debate. Hardy said she intends to introduce an ordinance at the Oct. 7 City Council meeting that would place a moratorium on new data center construction and utility permits, citing grid reliability, electricity costs, pollution and resource demands. The proposal would also bar city officials from entering agreements requiring nondisclosure with private technology developers, while candidate Eric Crutchlow has separately expressed support for a construction moratorium.