Seattle's Data Center Moratorium is Misguided Political Theater That Avoids Real Utility Problems
Source: Charles Fitzgerald. "Opinion: You can’t blame data centers in Seattle for our skyrocketing electricity prices – GeekWire." April 20, 2026. www.geekwire.com
The Gist
The author argues that Seattle's mayor is proposing to ban data centers that wouldn't come to the city anyway, just to have someone to blame when the city's power and water utilities fail to deliver affordable, reliable service. This is political theater that distracts from real problems with the city's utilities.
Conclusion
Mayor Wilson's proposed moratorium on data centers is performative politics that distracts from the real challenges facing Seattle's city-owned utilities
Premises
- Large data centers are not economically viable in Seattle due to high real estate and electricity costs
- Seattle City Light already charges some of the highest electricity prices in Washington state
- The utility faces accelerating price increases of 7-10% annually and needs to nearly double capacity by 2033
- Seattle Public Utilities has lost major customers (Eastside cities) who switched to Tacoma due to concerns about service reliability
- Banning data centers that weren't coming anyway removes convenient scapegoats for utility performance failures
- The mayor fired the City Light CEO without explanation and nominated an inexperienced replacement
Assumptions
- Politicians use scapegoating to avoid accountability for difficult problems
- City-owned utilities should be held to performance standards for affordability and reliability
- Economic competitiveness should guide policy decisions about business development
- Voters will hold the mayor accountable for utility performance if excuses are removed