PG&E to upgrade power equipment to service to Microsoft data hub
Microsoft plans to build a new data center on 65 acres of land in the south Bay. To accommodate its power needs, PG&E has shared that they must upgrade their equipment starting next January to be able to provide the necessary power for the Microsoft expansion. The data center will require 10 gigawatts of energy- 14.9% more than was quoted in January. Microsoft says this growing energy need is pretty standard across sectors. PG&E boasts that this expansion will come with a plethora of benefits such as spurring private investment, and expanding the tax base.
However the other side of the coin is that housing was going to be built where PG&E now wants to expand. This brings up questions of what to prioritize. Housing for our neighbors? Or the expansion of the ever growing tech sector? The answer is obvious; housing is a human right. In the face of a growing homelessness crisis our priority needs to be building suitable homes for Californians, not data centers. Prop 13 reform could balance the scales between corporations and real people by making corporations pay their fair share of taxes. The era of corporations buying us out of essential services needs to end.
Diana Lambert, EdSource
PG&E proposes power equipment upgrade to serve Microsoft data hub
By George Avalos |August 5 2025| Mercury News