As artificial intelligence continues to fuel a nationwide boom in data center construction, one Florida State University expert says consumers, not Big Tech, are being left to shoulder much of the cost. During an appearance on The Ryan Gorman Show, Dr. Mark McNees, Director of the Master of Science Degree Program in Social and Sustainable Enterprises at FSU's Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship, and author of the Tampa Bay Times op-ed, "Five Things Florida Utilities and Data Centers Don't Want You to Know," argued that current utility regulations allow the massive infrastructure costs required by data centers to be passed directly to residential ratepayers.
McNees said data centers require enormous amounts of electricity, with a single facility capable of consuming as much power annually as a small city like Tallahassee. Under the current system, utilities build billions of dollars in new generation and transmission infrastructure to meet that demand, costs that are ultimately spread across millions of customers. "Data companies are externalizing their startup costs to us, but they're still internalizing the profits," McNees said, calling it "the biggest wealth transfer in our generation."
When asked whether AI companies could argue that consumers benefit from the technology, McNees said users who want premium AI services already pay subscription fees through platforms like ChatGPT or Claude. He compared the current arrangement to asking consumers to finance Netflix's infrastructure before paying for a monthly subscription. "It is not true capitalism to make citizens pay for startup costs for a business," he said, adding that companies should bear the financial risks associated with their own growth.
Beyond electricity, McNees also warned about the environmental impact of data centers, particularly their massive water consumption. He pointed to reports showing that a single Amazon data center used billions of gallons of water in one year, arguing that companies should also be responsible for the environmental costs created by their operations rather than shifting those burdens onto local communities.
To hear the full conversation, including McNees' estimate of how much Florida ratepayers could ultimately be responsible for and why he believes existing utility rules no longer fit today's AI economy, listen to the complete interview on The Ryan Gorman Show.