A House committee got an overview last week of how data centers are driving up energy demand and threatening potential shortfalls in the second of three planned hearings on the matter.
The fundamental issue is that data centers have created a sudden and massive spike in demand for electricity, and Illinois doesn’t yet have the supply to accommodate it.
Representatives from Ameren and Commonwealth Edison, Illinois’ major electric supply companies, said a majority, though not all, of the large load projects in their queues are data centers, and the expected demand will be significant.
A ComEd official, however, said that projected load will come online over time and likely be in place by 2040 or 2045.
Brad Tietz, Midwest director of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, said data centers are becoming more energy efficient because the technology is still developing.
