US Lawmakers Investigate Big Tech’s Role Pushing Up Power Bills

Three Democratic US senators opened an investigation into how data centers are driving up monthly consumer power bills by sending letters demanding answers to seven firms developing the facilities, including Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc.

“On top of failing to pay their fair share of their electricity rates, tech companies regularly hide as much information as possible from the communities in which their data centers will be built,” wrote Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.