How the beleaguered ski industry is moving grid policy forward

Ski resorts are becoming an unexpected voice in the push for grid and energy policy reform, and the reasons behind their advocacy point to pressures many homeowners are starting to feel too. Resorts sit in remote areas with aging power infrastructure, and now that infrastructure is being strained further by massive new electricity demand from AI data centers and manufacturing. In the mid-Atlantic and Midwest region covered by grid operator PJM, power prices have jumped more than 70 percent in recent months because of this surge in demand. The result: even businesses (and households) that have nothing to do with data centers are seeing higher electric bills.

The ski industry's trade group, the National Ski Areas Association, has been lobbying lawmakers for reforms to permitting and transmission rules — the regulations that determine how quickly and cheaply new power lines and clean energy projects can get built. Their argument is that a more reliable, modernized grid keeps energy costs down for everyone, not just resorts. Some ski areas, like Bridger Bowl in Montana, worry that utilities will lean more on fossil fuels and raise rates just to cover the cost of upgrading grids to serve data centers. Others, like Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe in Nevada, factor an aging, overstretched transmission line into decisions about efficiency upgrades and new technology.

For homeowners, the takeaway is less about any specific rebate or program and more about a trend: rising regional power demand and strained infrastructure are pushing electricity prices up in some areas, which is worth keeping in mind when weighing the long-term value of home energy upgrades.