Big Tech Becomes Power Traders

To feed AI‑driven data centers, tech giants are seeking (and using) authorization to buy and sell electricity directly in wholesale markets. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft already trade power; Meta has now applied to do the same. This blurs the line between utilities and platforms and could alter grid operations, pricing, and clean‑energy procurement. — If platform companies become de facto market participants in electricity, regulators must confront market power, reliability, and decarbonization design in a tech‑dominated grid.