An influx of data center infrastructure in neighboring Virginia will likely leave Mountain State residents with higher energy bills, according to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

Regional grid operator PJM has proposed building two new high-voltage transmission lines to increase power capacity for data centers beginning in 2027. Both lines would cut through parts of West Virginia.

Cathy Kunkel, energy consultant at the institute, said data centers are massive computing facilities used by artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other large-scale computing industries.

"We found that West Virginia ratepayers are going to be contributing over $440 million to the cost of those transmission lines, even though the benefit is to data centers and the tech industry," Kunkel reported.

West Virginia ratepayers are served by subsidiaries of two utilities, FirstEnergy and American Electric Power. Kunkel noted the multimillion dollar price tag for the lines was determined by estimating the annual cost or revenue requirement of each of the two transmission lines during their useful life and then allocating the costs to the utilities.

Kunkel added the West Virginia Public Service Commission will have to decide whether the transmission lines ultimately serve the interests of residents.

"I do think it's unfair that data centers are imposing all these costs on the electrical grid and not fully paying for them," Kunkel asserted.

According to the report, as of 2023, data centers already account for 26% of Virginia's total electricity consumption. Power demand in Virginia's "Data Center Alley" transmission zone is expected to double over the next two decades.

A new analysis of what Congressional lawmakers have dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act found it would eliminate thousands of jobs in South Dakota and slow economic growth.

The bill's current language repeals multiple federal policies, funding programs and tax credits meant to boost American clean energy and manufacturing.

Daniel O'Brien, senior modeling analyst for the nonpartisan think tank Energy Innovation, said South Dakota could lose as many as 1,600 jobs by 2030 as funding is diverted to jobs in the coal, oil and gas industries.

"Those are but a fraction of the number of jobs that are being lost in manufacturing, construction, utilities, farming and agriculture," O'Brien explained.

O'Brien noted up to 840,000 jobs nationwide could be eliminated over the next five years if the current bill remains intact. It repeals more than $500 billion in Inflation Reduction Act investments, which some House Republicans have dubbed a "green new scam."

South Dakota households currently benefit from low energy prices, partly due to the growth of renewable energy. The industry has drawn more manufacturing to the state, along with data centers in need of large amounts of cheap power. But the analysis showed a shift toward fossil fuels will increase annual statewide energy bills by more than $180 million by 2035.

O'Brien stressed industries looking to reduce costs may choose to operate elsewhere.

"When you repeal these tax credits, you lose the incentivization of companies to build out cheap renewables in South Dakota," O'Brien pointed out. "For that reason, companies that are relying on their cheap power might go to other states or they might move outside of the U.S."

He added gas prices are also expected to rise with the repeal of EPA rules on vehicle tailpipe emissions and fuel economy standards. Zero-emission vehicle sales in South Dakota are expected to fall from more than 50% in 2030 to around 30% over the next five years.

As Washington D.C.'s sole gas company continues a multi-billion dollar, 40-year project to replace methane pipes, clean energy advocates argue the projects are misguided and alternatives to gas pipes are better for public health and the environment.

Washington Gas's plan will upgrade 200 miles of gas pipes in the District, costing more than $200 million for the third phase of pipe replacement, paid for by rate hikes on consumers.

In February, a majority of District council members signed a letter urging the Public Service Commission to direct the company to focus only on pipes that need to be fixed.

The company has fallen behind on a similar project in Maryland.

Claire Mills, District of Columbia campaigns manager with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said many pipes being replaced are plastic and less than 25 years old.

She says only lead pipes over 40 years old are likely to leak.

"Even small gas leaks that don't have the potential to explode," said Mills, "are putting methane gas, which is a hugely powerful greenhouse gas, into our atmosphere and creating climate change."

Washington Gas claims in a brochure that the D.C. project has led to the creation of more than 600 jobs. The company also argues it cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions by more than 5,000 metric tons.

Since 2018, when the District project began, the number of gas leaks across the District has decreased by nearly 25%, according to the Public Service Commission.

There were more than 1,200 instances of the gas leaks in 2023.

Mills says groups like hers are urging the Public Service Commission to create a plan that transitions the District to clean electricity, rather than doubling down on methane gas.

"Even if your gas pipe is all good, just burning methane gas in your home in your gas stove or your furnace has really negative health impacts," said Mills. "So in the long term, the real solution to this problem is moving the District off of methane gas through a managed transition that takes a serious approach."

The Public Service Commission is holding a hearing on the project tomorrow at its office in downtown D.C. at 5:30 p.m.

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to roll back Biden-era limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural gas power plants, a move critics said would negatively affect Pennsylvanians' health and the environment.

The agency estimated the proposal would cut regulatory costs for the power sector by $19 billion over 20 years starting in 2026.

Thomas Schuster director of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Sierra Club, explained the EPA wants to roll back standards on carbon pollution from power plants, a major source of emissions in Pennsylvania. He warned the move will put Pennsylvanians at risk.

"The rollback of these safeguards will mean that Pennsylvanians will be saddled with more extreme weather, more respiratory illnesses, more hospital visits and missed work," Schuster outlined. "We're basically out of time to deal with the climate crisis, and we can't afford to reset the clock on the clean energy transition."

Schuster argued the EPA cannot just scrap the standards. To replace them, it must go through the same formal rulemaking process it took to put the standards in place. He urged the public to speak up during the comment period required by the process. The EPA countered repealing regulations on coal and gas power plants will lower energy costs, boost national security and help power U.S. manufacturing and artificial intelligence.

Schuster believes EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's attempts at deregulation will have major future consequences. He stressed climate change results in more public health problems, premature deaths and catastrophic weather disasters. He contended the agency is ignoring clean energy options while promoting destructive policies.

"They're talking about rolling back toxic pollution standards from these plants as well, which contribute to pollutants like mercury, which are neurotoxins, which can really affect the development of children," Schuster noted.

Schuster emphasized climate change is also driving extreme weather in Pennsylvania, pointing to April's storm, which knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people and how last year was Pittsburgh's hottest on record, with cities across the state breaking 20 daily heat records in June. He added heavy rainfall last April triggered major landslides.