Senators Hawley and Warren request EIA data on data center power use

Senators Josh Hawley and Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Thursday requesting detailed data on energy use by data centers and its effects on the grid. The lawmakers called for a mandatory annual reporting requirement for data centers and other large loads. The letter states that the lack of reliable, standardized data on large load energy consumption poses significant risks to grid planning and oversight amid accelerating electricity demand. Hawley and Warren also asked the agency to collect granular information on differences in energy consumption between AI computing tasks and general cloud services. The senators requested specific data points including hourly, annual and peak energy loads, the rates companies pay and details on any grid upgrades required by new large loads along with how those upgrades are paid for. They further sought information on whether data center customers participate in demand response programs. The letter addresses EIA administrator Tristan Abbey and asks for a response by April 9. Abbey previously said the agency would be an essential player in collecting data on energy demand from data centers. Wired was first to report on the letter, which TechCrunch has viewed. The EIA has not publicly indicated if it has started work on the request.