The Public Regulation Commissions on Tuesday ordered the Public Service Company of New Mexico to charge Facebook for nearly half the cost of the 85 million transmission project for its New Mexico data center that opened this year, the Albuquerque Journal . Commission members, who voted 5-0 to approve the order, contend that the utility cannot bill ratepayers for the transmission project because the line will not benefit retail customers. It only helps Facebook and wholesale electric operators who need the transmission capacity to supply renewable energy to other markets, the commission said. Public Service Company of New Mexico representatives did not immediately return emails seeking comment. The data center is one of seven such sites for Facebook, and includes six buildings for data storage.

Source: ABC News April 18, 2019 15:51 UTC