Blumenthal Investigates Big Tech's Use of Non-Disclosure Agreements to Conceal Impact of Energy Guzzling Data Centers

“American families deserve full transparency over Big Tech’s expansion of data centers across the country and in their communities, and public officials should be able to hold operators accountable for their use of electricity and water.”
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, today wrote to public utility regulators in all 50 states seeking documents and information regarding non-disclosure agreements or other restrictions on the public disclosure of data centers’ energy usage, water access, infrastructure strain, or related environmental and economic effects. Following public reporting that data center owners and their clients have sought to limit state and local officials’ ability to share information about the impact of data centers, Blumenthal is raising concerns that Big Tech is preventing the public from having full transparency over data centers’ burden on communities.
In his letters to public utility regulators, Blumenthal highlighted the increased cost and strain data centers have imposed on consumers:“Consumers have shouldered the cost from new demand and modernization in terms of higher bills and increased risks of blackouts and other failures. Since January, families have seen the average price of household energy climb by ten percent. In regions near new data centers, residential retail energy rates are projected to further increase between 30% and 60% in the next five years. These sharp increases can have a devastating impact on consumers who must make significant sacrifices just to keep the lights on.”
Blumenthal continued, “Facing grassroots, community-based opposition, Big Tech companies and data center owners have sought to conceal the impact of their operations, while engaging in a public relations campaign to improve their image and lobbying to block efforts to hold them accountable for their costs.”
Blumenthal pointed to reported examples of Big Tech using non-disclosure agreements to conceal the impact and scale of data centers across the country:“Also alarmingly, data center operators have reportedly used non-disclosure agreements to limit state and local officials’ ability to share information about the scale and impact of proposed data centers, even the name of the owner and partners involved. For example, in Arizona, Amazon sought to restrict a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors from discussing details of a controversial $3.6 billion data center. Researchers from the University of Mary Washington found that in Virginia localities where a data center could be identified, the vast majority (25 out of 31) of local governments are operating under an NDA, often broadly limiting disclosure of basic information such as the number of data centers planned and the size of those projects.”
“American families deserve full transparency over Big Tech’s expansion of data centers across the country and in their communities, and public officials should be able to hold operators accountable for their use of electricity and water. Regulators should actively provide the public with any non-disclosure agreements requested or required by data center operators without delay,”Blumenthal concluded.
Copies of Blumenthal’s letters to all 50 public utility regulators areavailable here.
-30-