We Found the Hidden Cost of Data Centers. It's in Your Electric Bill [video]

This feels misleading to me.

I accept that data centers generate more load for a system. Which will make the overall system need more maintenance, which is something that others paying into the system will also have to support. But, I'm not clear on why this is a hidden cost.

Consider, if people get the new housing developments that they want, that would also add load to the system. This larger energy system will be more expensive to run, which will lead to higher costs. Adding houses would probably be even more expensive in the transmission maintenance costs associated.

Any model you do that tries to prevent this is essentially rent stabilization for early members. And that has a pretty good track record of not being a good idea.

These larger power-generation systems tend to be more efficient than smaller power-generation systems, not less, which should result in a cost decrease, not an increase.

Tennessee (for example) has fairly cheap electricity because the TVA uses a lot of hydroelectric, and since we have a ridiculous amount of rain and violent thunderstorms each year, every decade or two they build another hydroelectric dam and create a new lake, which generates more hydroelectric power (and a moderate increase in tourism/recreation). We don't have buried power lines (excepting in a very few places) but we've got a ton of redundant power substations and multiple transmission paths (because storms). The TVA and Corps of Engineers are kinda hardcore here otherwise the valley would flood about a quarter of the year and be sitting around in the dark for another quarter of the year.

Maintenance of the power transmission lines is paid for by the electrical customer as a part of paying for the electricity itself. This actually scales just fine. If your local electrical utility is not doing it this way, someone needs to explain to them how proper accounting works.

Calling a "hidden cost" is just a convenient way to say "We're making this up because we feel like it's right and we don't intend to show any proof."