Oracle must pay $7 billion for power grid in Wisconsin data center

Oracle faces extra costs for its big data center in Port Washington, Wisconsin. The state's Public Service Commission said no to a waiver, so Oracle must put up $7 billion to guarantee power grid upgrades, adding $100 million in yearly costs.

The data center, planned by OpenAI, Oracle, and Vantage Data Centers, will use about 1GW of power and start serving customers in late 2027. Utility company We Energies requires developers with low credit scores to pay for power infrastructure themselves, to protect regular folks from higher electricity bills.

Meanwhile, nearly 200 US utilities and data center developers signed a promise to keep AI power use from raising prices for everyday people. This shows the tug-of-war between big data centers and who pays for the grid.