The Oregon Public Utility Commission has ruled in favor of a PacifiCorp proposal that would penalize large-load customers, such as data centers, whose energy use at new facilities is not in line with forecast needs.
"The scale of utility procurement and stranded asset risk associated with these loads creates a risk difference not only of degree, but of nature," the commissioners said in a statement. The utility also contended that the new rules would incentivize data center operators to make more accurate forecasts, which would help avoid unnecessary or premature spending.
Meta, the Data Center Coalition, and the Association of Western Energy Consumers opposed the proposal, arguing that the practice would be discriminatory, forcing large companies to bring capacity online simultaneously.
"If the company has historical information suggesting that it should not plan for all load to materialize exactly as customers forecast or have it all available on the first day of the customer taking service, it is the responsibility of a prudent utility operator to plan accordingly," Meta said in a statement.
