PSC conference to explore issues around power-hungry data centers

Electric transmission lines cross a field in central North Dakota. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)

The North Dakota Public Service Commission is holding a conference Thursday on data centers, a controversial topic in the state because of their power consumption, and in some cases, noise.

The PSC has no regulatory authority over data centers, unless they are connecting to a regulated utility.

But PSC Chair Randy Christmann said that could change. He said at least one legislator is considering a bill that could require a permit through the PSC for large data centers.

He said the data center near Williston is an example of a data center that was built where it shouldn’t have been.

With the oil industry already having a huge appetite for electric power, Christmann said the extra demand for the data center has driven up rates for customers of Montana-Dakota Utilities.

“I’m not saying it couldn’t have been put in North Dakota, but it’s just not a good fit there,” Christmann said of t he Atlas Power Data Center.

The PSC regulates investor-owned utilities that provide power in North Dakota, including Montana-Dakota Utilities, but doesn’t regulate electric co-ops such as the Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative.

MWEC provides the power to the data center. MDU serves the city of Williston and other towns in the area but has to pay to use transmission lines owned by other utility companies.

Christmann said the increased power demand is driving up transmission line costs for MDU.

On the other hand, Christmann said the Applied Digital data center near Ellendale was located in an area with excess power supply and has helped MDU and its customers.

The agenda for the conference said it is intended to be an open dialogue among all parties. The agenda lists utilities, data centers, and other government agencies as taking part. Christmann said it was not intended as a public comment hearing.

The conference starts at 9 a.m. Thursday in the Pioneer Room at the Capitol. It will be livestreamed from the PSC website and recorded.

It will discuss the power demand of data centers and data mining, how locations are chosen for data centers and how to minimize impacts for customers.

During a June PSC hearing on a proposed natural gas processing facility near Williston, noise from the data center came up several times during public testimony.

The PSC does set noise level thresholds for facilities that it permits, such as wind farms.

Gov. Doug Burgum announced the plan for the $1.9 billion Atlas Power Data Center in 2022 in a news release.

“This major investment in North Dakota will further cement our state’s growing reputation as a hub for data centers and cryptocurrency mining, thanks to our incredibly reliable, affordable and redundant power supply and a climate that lowers cooling costs for data center operations,” Burgum said in the release.

In 2023, Williams County announced that Atlas Power had paid $232,000 in fines for building code violations.

Christmann said another power plant proposed by Basin Electric and transmission line projects will help ease power congestion in northwest North Dakota but those projects will take years to complete.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST