These documents were supposed to stay secret.

Entergy sued local newspapers, trying to keep its deal with Google confidential. The suit failed; the news is out. Entergy plans to hike West Memphis ratepayers’ utility bills by ~$6 each month for the next 20 years, all to fund Google’s new datacenter.

Kinda sounds like a paying-the-electric-bill strike is in order.

Or a few well-placed rifle bullets in the power transformers that feed the datacenter.

Oh no that could cause the transformers to overheat and explode, dont do that!

To fund the datacenter or to fund infrastructure expansion needed for the datacenter?

Same difference.

What a disturbing economic equation.

The funny thing if they were using that money to build utilities / buildings for the community to use - that could be applauded.
But they are taking money to pay for a for profit company, that will provide for profit services, that will disturb locals for profit.

Surely the data centres should pay for their utilities including electricity!

Not when you have a Free Market™ sprinkled with lots of Freedom™. And don’t call me Shirley.

I had the fish

That’s the neat part, they generally do pay for “their” electricity, but there isn’t enough electricity for them to do that so power plants and infrastructure expansion must happen and they pretend that’s for everyone, not just them, so they shouldn’t pay for the capacity since technically they can’t tell whose electricity is really whose.

It’s a pretty broken model in this scenario.

Anyone ever consider that Google could, you know… Afford to fund their own damned data center project if they want it so badly?

But why?

I once worked for a startup where the founder and the CEO was a hundred(s) millionaire, and he could have easily funded the startup on his own. And you know what? He’d be constantly pitching to investors, nonstop. And when the other investors lost confidence, he closed the business.

It’s a matter of principle for many of these people. You don’t ever want to risk your own money unless there is no other choice. It doesn’t matter if you can afford it. The question is why? If I can spend your money why would I spend my own? It makes no sense.

These billionaires will spend our money, time, dreams, energy indefinitely, if they can. Only if there is an absolute and absolutely unbypassable barrier that prevents them from even trying would they stop. They won’t ever volunteer to stop.

It’s why they stay billionaires and millionaires. Spending others money

Socialism Silicon Valley is great until you run out of other people’s money.

hundred(s) millionaire

Officially hectomillionaire, as hecto is the prefix for a hundred times but often you also see centimillionaire, but centi is actually 1/100 so technically not correct.

Lot of centimillionaires walking around voting like they’re hecto’s

Yep. When the business loses, it’s not their money, but when there are profits, it’s suddenly all theirs.

This.

Which is a laugh when we’re supposed to accept you can’t tax these people because otherwise they won’t invest. They’re only ever using other people’s money anyway.

All you’re doing is slowing down their money hoarding game.

Also that entire premise is built on a lie. Higher taxes increase investment in the business, because it’s either they give it away to the government and get nothing lot of it, or use to it strengthen the business.

When taxes are low, that’s when the rich take the money out of the business to keep for themselves.

A tick can’t suck it’s own blood.

By their logic I should be able to plug into my neighbor’s electric, right? I mean, why should I spend my own money?

That is so fucked up. Why are WE paying for that??? Imagine having a grocery store open and they increase your utilities because there’s a store now using electricity. Or a tire shop opens up.

MFera need to pay their own bills! This is in-fucking-sane!

Because the country is now run like a business and you my friend are just a human resource ripe for extraction.

What else is valued around $6 USD:

SPOILER

Entergy is lying through their teeth about the whole ordeal. Claiming the data center would not impact rates while fighting like hell to suppress the details of their deal with Google.

At the same time, they are currently pitching a full rate restructuring to the Arkansas Public Service Commission which will absolutely increase rates. Especially for small businesses.

Sarah Sanders administration also bears some responsibility for this bullshit. After Ted Thomas resigned as PSC chairman in 2022, the governors office began working hard to make the PSC much more friendly to utilities and much less friendly to rate payers.

In some ways, this is Arkansas voters having the day they voted for. Ya’ll wanted a governor who was “pro business” (aka pro corruption) and now you’ve got a PSC – which is supposed to advocate for ratepayers – that just rubber stamps rate increase requests.

My interest in doing an off-grid solar system for my house is steadily increasing…

If you’re loaded and live where there’s enough sun all year round, it’s not a bad idea. Particularly if you can get enough production and storage to last through a long winter night after a short winter day and then throw in a backup generator, you will never need the grid again.

Funny how every major innovation that’s sweeping the world and gonna make all the money ever still needs public subsidies.

The trillion-dollar company welfare program.

Make these billionaires pay their own way! Why are we paying for their party?

Privatise the profits, nationalise the losses?

Because that would cut into their profits. Stop thinking about yourself all the time. People need yachts.

Why are utility customers paying for someone else’s bill?