Ordinary people face added energy costs as a result of data centre growth
Reacting to the rushed legislation passed yesterday that allows the Government to purchase €350 million worth of emergency generators, the People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith said: “This rushed and panicked legislation will not serve people well and far from helping in the cost of living crisis will essentially mean people will have more on their bills to pay for the insane data centre policy of the state.”
The TD was commenting after the government pushed in a bill which had bypassed the normal legislative process. The Bill allows Eirgrid to purchase an emergency plant to avoid power cuts. Deputy Smith said: “The crisis is primarily driven by data centre growth. The lack of due process here means we didn’t examine any of the issues properly or look for alternatives that sought to reduce the expected demands”.
The TD also warned that the costs of this emergency plant would be borne by ordinary people in their bills.
She said: “Ironically while the government are praising the fact that the PSO levy will now be gone, they neglected to mention that an extra €40 per year will be lumped on people’s bills to pay for this emergency plant. It’s giving with one hand and taking with the other.”
The TD also warned of much more extensive costs involved in facilitating data centres in the coming years saying: “This Irish Academy of Engineers has estimated that it may cost between €6 to 9 Billion in infrastructure work to the national grid to continue to facilitate these centres. That will be borne immediately by ordinary people with the centres only expected to financially contribute over a 50-year period. Considering the crisis we face in energy and climate, there is a real need to look closely at this insane policy and the present restrictions do not address the data centres that have already been approved for connection or the longer-term issues here”.
