The Center Square reports…

Companies operating data centers should be the ones that pay for upgrades to the electric grid, most voters say  according to a new poll.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll found that 66% of voters believe that data center companies should be paying for the increased power demand and infrastructure required to get that electricity to the data centers.

Fourteen percent of those registered to vote say the costs of the upgrades should be shared by both data center companies and the public while 8% believe the upgrades are the responsibility of federal, state or local taxpayers and 6% believe that all electricity customers should pay for the upgrades. Another 6% said they were unsure who should pay.

The results come from a survey conducted by Noble Predictive Insights from Oct. 5-7 that polled registered voters nationally via opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages. The sample included 2,527 respondents comprised of 1,011 Republicans, 1,011 Democrats, and 505 Independents. Among independent voters, 220 respondents were classified as true independents, which are individuals who do not lean toward either major party when given the choice. The margin of error is +/- 1.95%.