The Power Play: Oregon Law Aims at Data Centers, But Who’s Still Paying the Price?
By Dirk Knudsen | The Hillsboro Herald
They did it. Oregon lawmakers passed the POWER Act—a law that finally says to Big Tech: “You want the power? Then pay for it.”
But hold your applause. While this law shifts some future costs away from everyday folks, it’s not going to bring your electric bill down anytime soon. It doesn’t fix the decades-long scam that’s let corporations siphon our clean power at fire-sale prices, while you and your neighbors get slammed with hikes.
“We have more data center load in Hillsboro than all residential customers in Washington County.” — PGE Testimony to Oregon Legislature
Welcome to the future, folks: where your streetlight goes dark while a warehouse full of blinking servers lights up Wall Street.
🔥 The Real Story: People vs Profit
Let’s set the record straight. PGE’s latest filings show residential customers pay about 20¢ per kilowatt-hour. Meanwhile, data centers—running 24/7 AI and crypto rigs—get a sweetheart deal around 8¢.
And this isn’t just about rates. It’s about usage. These facilities consume more power than entire cities. And they’re still growing.
💰 And the Profits? Through the Roof. Some Examples:
- CoreWeave inked a $7 billion lease with Applied Digital and saw a 248% stock surge in 2025.
- AI data centers now earn $12.50 per watt per year, compared to just $4.20 for traditional data centers.
- Global cloud budgets are nearing $1 trillion in value, with no signs of slowing down.
⚖️ Where Is the Equity?
Right here in Hillsboro, people are being disconnected from water, sewer, and electricity because they can’t afford rising costs. Meanwhile, megacorporations—exempt from local taxes—build digital fortresses on farmland and pay next to nothing for the same basic service.
🗣️ The Call: Let’s Help Hillsboro Fight Back
We need a Data Center Equity Initiative. How would you like us to allocate $135,000,000 a year for our citizens, without putting a dent in the data center’s profits, and without costing the taxpayers a dime?
I have mentioned this to the Hillsboro City Councilors twice. Maybe if I go in one more time for a 3rd try, they will put it up to a Vote and waive the initiative requirement like they did for fluoride? No matter. It is moving ahead. I know we can pass it, together.
Therefore, we will create and pass the Power the People Initiative: A Community Energy Equity Measure.
Shall Hillsboro impose a franchise fee on all commercial data centers to fund utility bill assistance, early education, and community mental health services?
✅ Points In Favor of the Initiative
Every data center profits from Hillsboro’s infrastructure — every one should contribute.
Whether they pull 5 MW or 250, their operations depend on local roads, power, and emergency services.
Residential ratepayers don’t get exemptions — why should billion-dollar corporations?
- We pay 250% more and receive no benefits- no jobs – and the money leaves Hillsboro and never returns. So we are going to capture some of it at the source.
What would the initiative petition do? Well, here are some solid ideas.
- I would propose a franchise fee or usage tax for every kilowatt-hour drawn by industrial-scale data centers. We are talking tens of Millions of Dollars. And this would ONLY be for the people of Hillsboro, not Washington County at large, for now.
- The Funds would not be allocated to the General Fund but would be targeted for a Community Fund, overseen by a citizen-run board with a small staff of accountants. The revenues would be 100% be used to support, for example:
- Utility relief for vulnerable families, Seniors, and marginalized citizens. No one will be cut off when legitimate help is needed.
- Early education for Hillsboro’s kids– the State and County are cutting our budgets? We replenish K-PreK funding for those who need it. Direct financial assistance for private and public programs, utilizing a voucher system per qualifying child. This will create jobs and a wave of economic benefits, not to mention give our young stars a chance to shine like never before.
- Mental health support for the unhoused. We are building houses and shelters. However, based on my personal experience, I can tell you that there is little to no mental health help available for people. We get on top of mental health and addiction, and we make a massive dent in this problem.
- At least 85% of all revenue would be directly invested in these programs, with no more than 15% of the revenue used for managing the fund.
- This is all preliminary, but it’s moving forward. And we can pass it. We will pass it. If you’d like to help, please email me at dirkknudsen@gmail.com.
They came for our land. They are taking our power. They all got 5 years of No Property Taxes- do you? Their gross profits are moving out of state and not benefiting the people of our community. SO now we fight back. Let’s take control of a small piece of the massive difference between what they pay and what we pay.
Are you with me? Let’s build the petition. Let’s write the law. Hillsboro can be the spark Oregon—and America—needs.
Look for a story soon to announce what we’re doing!
— Dirk Knudsen, The Hillsboro Herald
Good work! AI and crypto are inadequately regulated. Such extreme uses of energy (and the associated development of arable land, usurping of clean water, and carbon footprint of energy production) should only be allowed if the purposes they serve provide positive outcomes for humanity, not for extreme profit. AI has huge positive potential to benefit humanity. Crypto is a scam through and through.