There is a bit of AI spending one-upmanship going on among the hyperscalers and cloud builders – and now the foundation model builders who are partnering
Every system is different so can’t speak for you. All the grid infrastructure is built to deliver peak demand so it’s not all about cost of generation resources.
Large companies that can use power consistently for 24hour will get “better” rates because in theory they are maximizing energy sales with the designed lines. That has value too but “better” isn’t always “cheaper”; energy kWh’s and peak demand are valued differently based on the grid/consumers needs.
Nearly every residential user does not use energy that way 24hrs a day. Sun goes down, lights come on, dinner prepped, and home climate changes contribute to significant demand that adds up quickly. That’s why most utilities offer time of use rates, if you want a cheaper energy bill than do your part by either not straining the grid at peak hours or paying into your contribution.
All that to say as long as your utility is not an investor owned utility than 6x may not be that crazy for your system. The fundamentals of energy costs is supply vs. demand. But IOU’s is a completely different ballgame.
I love subsidizing these jackoffs energy bills in my own power bill /s. 17c/kwh for me, 3c/kwh for Bezos… From the same supplier.
If that’s the case there is likely a demand component to the bill. You don’t want to cheaper kWh and pay demand…
You “shouldn’t” be subsidizing the bill but who knows, it may be something but probably not as much as you would think.
Off hours can’t be 6 times cheaper, surely
Every system is different so can’t speak for you. All the grid infrastructure is built to deliver peak demand so it’s not all about cost of generation resources.
Large companies that can use power consistently for 24hour will get “better” rates because in theory they are maximizing energy sales with the designed lines. That has value too but “better” isn’t always “cheaper”; energy kWh’s and peak demand are valued differently based on the grid/consumers needs.
Nearly every residential user does not use energy that way 24hrs a day. Sun goes down, lights come on, dinner prepped, and home climate changes contribute to significant demand that adds up quickly. That’s why most utilities offer time of use rates, if you want a cheaper energy bill than do your part by either not straining the grid at peak hours or paying into your contribution.
All that to say as long as your utility is not an investor owned utility than 6x may not be that crazy for your system. The fundamentals of energy costs is supply vs. demand. But IOU’s is a completely different ballgame.