> Why aren't the data centers footing the bill?

Because they can make the rest of us pay for it and historically there's been little pushback against that. That's changing, but that's why they shove it off on the rest of us.

Socialize costs, privatize gains. If they didn't try to make someone else pay for it, some activist shareholder might attempt to make them try it. Then all of the other players in the space copy the same playbook and now it's practically mandated that if you want to compete in the data center development market, you must make someone else pay for the electricity, lest the returns on such an investment lag behind those who do.