Right. Here's a new paper from ESIG/Brattle with a great graphic to cut against simplistic narratives of data centers always increasing/reducing rates for existing customers.
TL;DR - it depends. For e.g. your rates can go UP if your utility has not fully hedged. Just ask some ratepayers in PJM!
As the paper put it:
"The rate impact of large loads is not a foregone conclusion in either direction. It is an empirical question that depends on the specific conditions of the utility system, prevailing market dynamics, market design, regulatory framework, and rate design."
Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias)
Adding a big new source of demand like a data center absolutely COULD reduce consumer electricity prices (by spreading fixed costs across more customers) but this game of telephone is losing the thread on whether that’s actually what’s happening in any given case.
— https://nitter.net/mattyglesias/status/2054166549649375254#m