Recurring power outages and out-of-control power rates are putting Hillsboro’s data centers on the front page

The Hillsboro Herald has covered more stories about data centers, particularly in Hillsboro, Oregon, than any other news media. At least 20 in-depth articles have been researched and covered here at the Herald. Gathering the data, the policies and the history of their impact on our communities has been a labor of love. They are here to stay and finally there is some progress in how much electricity they use.

We have claimed that they are putting a heavy strain on our fragile power grids. Additionally, they are not paying their fair share of the cost of improving transmission lines and substations that cannot handle this large demand. Seeing others join in reporting and fight for justice, including Senator Ron Wyden, the Oregonian and the Oregon Capitol Chronicle, is a great feeling.

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Wyden applied the pressure in a strongly worded letter to PGE last week CEO Maria Pope. This put her and the company on the defensive, but also put her in a position to explain the causes of PGE’s costs and why massive tariff increases are causing us citizens to pay up to 40% more than we did a year ago few years.

The Oregon Capitol Chronicle received a statement from PGE spokesman Drew Hanson. One of the quotes from this excellent article states:

“Energy requirements of PGE’s residential customer base has increased about 5% over the past five years, while industrial demand has increased more than 34%. Therefore, PGE needs to make major investments in industrial energy storage, new transmission lines and other energy generation projects. These costs were distributed among all customersand today, residential customers pay more per kilowatt-hour of electricity than industrial customers, according to an analysis by the Citizens’ Utility Board, a watchdog group founded by Oregon voters in 1984 to represent the interests of utility consumers.”

From: Alex Baumhardt– December 11, 2024 11:22 a.m

Read her story here.

Wyden says PGE will “do everything possible” to keep rates below inflation after 2025

Read this section in RED Residential customers bear the cost of infrastructure, which is almost entirely borne by data centers and companies like Intel. This is a grave injustice. And in Hillsboro, now the fourth-largest data center hub in the United States, that’s all of us. The Herald and community advocates have brought this issue to our mayor and city council in the past. We will continue. Our water suppliers have made great efforts over the past year to determine the cost of services and look at each category of users. As it turns out, large industry was responsible for most of the costs and will therefore face greater water cost increases in the future than residential customers. This would not have been possible without the efforts of citizen activist Charolyn Concepcion, who pushed this process forward and got utility commissioners to see what was happening. They voted for a fair increase according to user groups. One person can change the world.

The Oregonian spoke out today with its own story, reiterating the seriousness of the situation.

https://www.oregonlive.com/environment/2024/12/pge-will-try-to-keep-residential-rate-increases-below-inflation-rate-sen-wyden-says.html

Mike Rogaway I wrote a better story on this topic a few days ago.
https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2024/10/oregons-data-centers-want-a-lot-more-electricity-whos-going-to-pay-it-could-be-you. html

His story delved into the possibility of blackouts in which we could all lose power due to these energy-guzzling giants. And no one seems sure what could happen. Hillsboro has attracted more data centers than any other, due to the welcome our industrial park zones and tax-free enterprise zones have rolled out. These Wall Street-funded centers pay no property taxes for five to 10 years, employ almost no one, and take advantage of our available land and resources.

“The Hillsboro market is in focus with tax breaks due to Intel’s expansion plans and a growing number of data centers. Utilities are closely examining options to run new power lines into Washington County, with a focus on another major power line through Forest Park.” Mike RogowayOregonLive – https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2024/10/oregons-data-centers-want-a-lot-more-electricity-whos-going-to-pay-it-could-be – you.html

They are vampires in the countryside and in our community.

So why do we allow them and why hasn’t our leadership stopped them with simple zoning restrictions?

Property taxes: The Herald has first-hand information that the goal is to let them into the city and survive the first few tax-free years. The result? Cash cows will generate hundreds of millions in property tax revenue in Hillsboro, generating so much for parks, schools, roads and other essential services. Jobs are being lost due to a technology downturn and displacement by AI, which could result in a significant percentage of us becoming unemployed over the next decade. How can a city stay alive and keep the lights on? An industry like this makes AI possible and contributes to job losses. However, it is an industry that will grow and be resilient, and people will not need jobs to run it and pay property taxes.

Now everyone is on board…

Now that we’ve all turned our attention to this topic, here are some additional thoughts and points that no one has talked about yet.

• At what price do these data centers buy our electricity?? I assure you that it is much lower than what we all pay per kilowatt and megawatt. This needs to be published and shared. This rate should be increased to offset the costs arising from PGE and BPA.
• Should Hillsboro residents file an initiative petition to stop these data centers from expanding here?
• Is a tourism tax or a per kilowatt/megawatt fee something we should all be thinking about? When these centers are the cash cows and darlings of Wall Street and AI companies, and all their profits leave our community, we need to do something as the energy flows in and the data flows in and out.
• How about a 9% fee based on facility gross receipts? Imagine that the data center’s customers and data are served in the same way we see human visitors in our city. We charge a 9% TLT or lodging tax here in Washington based on room cost. So how about 9% of the cost of providing and storing all that data? Then we use all of the revenue for 1) schools, 2) retraining and job creation for AI victims, 3) energy support for those cut off when needed, and 4) other essential services like parks, fire and police. And if you think I’m joking, think again.

The New Hillsboro Leadership –

Hillsboro has up to 22 data centers (see red dots at top of photo) and more are coming. What, if anything, will Mayor Beach Pace and the three new councilors do? It’s so complex that they might just sit there and do nothing. But if they serve and lead us all, they will step up and mean business. You have to do it now. The current group was too busy with baseball and Intel’s problems, which brought us to this point. Let’s communicate with them to create a win-win situation for everyone!

We hope for a better 2025 for all of us and are taking action on this most urgent matter.