Meta data centre could raise Alberta power bills $270–$460 yearly, study warns

Your power bill could jump by hundreds of dollars once Meta's data centre comes online in Sturgeon County — but only during a critical waiting period.

The Pembina Institute, a research organization examining the project's energy impacts, estimates household power bills will increase $270 to $460 per year once the facility begins operations in the next two to three years. The pressure on Alberta's electricity grid stems from a timing gap: Meta's data centre will connect to Alberta's existing power grid before the adjacent Greenlight Electricity Centre power plant finishes construction in late 2030.

David Pickup, director of energy at Pembina, said the potential cost jump is significant. "The idea of hundreds of dollars per year on average over the coming years on bills is a pretty stark reminder of the impacts that these projects can have," Pickup said.

Data centres house the computing hardware that stores and distributes information for tech applications using artificial intelligence. U.S. Department of Energy data shows data centres accounted for 4.4 per cent of U.S. electricity demand in 2023 — a figure projected to climb as high as 12 per cent by 2028.

Meta's facility could require nearly one gigawatt of electricity to run, approximately 10 per cent of Alberta's total capacity. The Greenlight power plant, which Meta is funding alongside the data centre, will eventually produce 932 megawatts with the ability to double that output. But until it comes online, Meta will draw from Alberta's existing supply.

When wholesale electricity prices rise in Alberta, retailers can adjust rates to cover costs and margins — meaning the cost increase flows directly to household bills. Kent Fellows, an associate professor of economics at the University of Calgary, said the impact depends on timing. "Something like a data centre that's using a lot of electricity, as much as a large town or even a small city, that's definitely going to move the needle if they don't have to bring their own generation with them," Fellows said.

The Pembina report estimates the period of highest impact will run from 2027 to 2031. Once the Greenlight plant becomes operational, pressure on consumer prices should ease.

Alberta's provincial government and Meta have both said the data centre will not make electricity more expensive for Albertans, but the study's findings suggest otherwise — at least during the gap years.