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Warren, Blumenthal and Van Hollen say AI data center firms aren't paying their full costs

Seven companies told the senators they pay their full energy costs. The senators say that phrase covers less than it sounds.

By Think Facility · October 10, 2026 · AI policy Data centers Save

Three Democratic senators released a 27-page report on October 9, 2026 that says the biggest AI data center builders aren't covering the costs their sites push onto neighbors. Elizabeth Warren's office put it out on behalf of herself and two colleagues (Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is one, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut the other), under the title Power and Profits: How the AI Data Center Boom Costs Households and Communities.

It took them most of a year. They wrote to seven companies on December 15, 2025, and their staff kept talking to company representatives after that.

Released

October 9, 2026

Senators

Warren (D-Mass.), Van Hollen (D-Md.), Blumenthal (D-Conn.)

Companies

Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, CoreWeave, Digital Realty, Equinix

Report

27-page, after letters sent on December 15, 2025

Who pays for the grid?

Publicly, the companies say they support paying the energy costs of serving their sites. So far so good. But when the senators pressed, "full energy costs" and "full cost of service" turned out to mean only the infrastructure that benefits the company itself, according to the senators' release.

So what's the argument actually about? Upgrades. Say a new campus means the utility has to build a bigger line. Under a but-for standard, the data center pays for all of it, and the companies broadly opposed that. They want those costs spread across every ratepayer.

The senators also accuse them of pointing to new state rules as proof consumers are protected, while lobbying the same legislatures for better terms. Sometimes that means threatening to build in a different state.

NDAs and tax breaks

All four Big Tech companies routinely ask for NDAs. Utilities and landowners sign them. In some cases, so do government officials. Several companies told the senators why, too: an NDA with an official keeps the local community from hearing about the project.

Meta's version sounded kinder, at least. Confidentiality, it said, keeps "all stakeholders" focused on the project. (The senators point out that this leaves the people who live there off the list.)

Then there are taxes. The companies said they'll keep asking for sales tax exemptions on chips and other equipment, which the senators say is worth more to a data center than any other tax break. And none of the seven could, or would, give full numbers on how many full-time jobs their sites create. I suspect that's the line local officials will quote, since jobs are usually the case a town hears for saying yes.

What happens next

The release doesn't call for a bill. It ends on the senators' picture of states racing each other to the bottom to land data centers, with residents stuck paying.

One company had already moved on secrecy. Amazon said on October 2 that it no longer uses NDAs with government agencies on data center projects.