Virginia County Told Teachers to Close Blinds While 37 Data Centers Ran the Meter Up 25%

Henrico County, Virginia stuffed 37 data centers into its eastern corridor with 17 more coming, and now the county manager has emailed thousands of teachers and first responders begging them to turn off lights, unplug chargers, and adjust their blinds. The reason is a 25% electricity rate hike landing July 1 that will add an estimated $5 million to the county’s annual bill, with more increases promised in the years ahead. Server farms slurping the grid gets you a memo about window treatments, and the servers keep their f*ucking lights on. 404 Media on the conserve-electricity email