Who pays for the cost of growth

Dr. Mark McNees studies the economics of who pays when growth creates new costs, with a focus on AI data center energy demand, utility rate structures, and the state laws now reshaping who funds the grid.

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Topics in focus

01

Data center energy economics

How the cost of new grid infrastructure gets allocated when large new loads connect to shared systems.

02

Utility rate structures and ratepayer cost allocation

How rate design decides who funds the grid, and how those costs shift onto existing ratepayers.

03

State energy policy: SB 484 and the spreading cost-causation model

The cost-causation principle behind SB 484 and the state laws now following it.

04

Corporate cost externalization

The broader pattern of internalizing profit while pushing cost onto the public, with energy as the current proof point.

Energy policy analysis published in USA Today and The Hill.

Book a talk

Available for keynotes, panels, and policy convenings.

Booking inquiries: mmcnees@fsu.edu

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