Pennsylvania residents are being told that rising electricity costs are partly driven by the massive power demands of data centers and other high-volume users. If that is true, then the way electricity is priced needs to change.
Under the current flat per-kilowatt-hour rate, households and small businesses that conserve energy still pay higher bills, while the largest users — those placing the greatest strain on the grid — do not pay proportionately more. In effect, everyday residents are subsidizing the costs created by extreme electricity consumption.
A fairer solution is tiered pricing: Charge a reasonable base rate for normal usage but increase the per- kilowatt rate once consumption exceeds certain thresholds. Use more, pay more. This approach rewards conservation, protects residents on fixed incomes and assigns costs to those who actually drive higher demand and infrastructure expansion. With today’s technology, this can easily be applied.
If high-volume electricity use is rising rates, those causing the increase should bear the cost — not everyone else.
Mary Ramsay
Hunker