Senate demands data centers reveal their power consumption

Senators Josh Hawley and Elizabeth Warren are pushing the Energy Information Administration to start tracking how much electricity data centers actually use and how that’s straining the power grid.

The two senators want detailed records on data center energy consumption. Right now, that information is scattered or missing entirely. The EIA collects broad energy data across industries, but data centers — which power AI servers, cloud storage, and streaming services — operate largely in the shadows when it comes to their grid impact.

Data centers are massive power hogs. A single facility can consume as much electricity as a small city. With AI boom driving demand for more computing power, that consumption is climbing fast. Utilities and grid operators say they need better visibility into which companies are using how much power, and where.

Hawley and Warren aren’t typically allies, but both have flagged concerns about data center energy use. The push for EIA oversight is their attempt to get concrete numbers on the table — data that regulators, investors, and the public can actually see.

Based on reporting from TechCrunch.