
Regulated utilities seem to like to blame the Internet for the world's
woes.  First telephone companies scared the world with claims the
Internet would disrupt 9-1-1 services, and now electric companies
claim unprecendented demand from Internet companies is leading to
power shortages and rolling blackouts.

>From the April 15, 2001 Contra Costa Times:
> The theory that the Internet sucked up the power grid and launched
> an era of rolling blackouts is staunchly rebuked by academic experts,
> who say much of today's demand follows population and economic growth
> trends. Indeed, as early as 1988, the California Energy Commission
> issued forecasts for peak electricity demand in 2000 that overshot reality.
>
> "When people say the high electricity demand is causing the California
> power crisis and the Internet is causing the high electricity demand,
> it's a multi-part false statement," said Jonathan Koomey, a staff
> scientist and group leader at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.
>
> "It sounds plausible. People believe it when you tell them, but actually
> it's one of these cases of urban legend becoming conventional wisdom."

http://www.contracostatimes.com/partners/nf/wilson_20010415.htm

Here is Dr. Koomey's information, and various publications.

http://enduse.lbl.gov/bios/jonathan.html

http://enduse.lbl.gov/projects/infotech.html

Electricity Used by Office Equipment and Network Equipment in the U.S.:
Detailed Report and Appendices

http://enduse.lbl.gov/Info/45917b-abstract.html

The conclusion is all the office and electronic equipment consumes
about 74 TWh/year, or about 2% of the total US electric power consumption.
If you add all telecommunications and electronics manufacturing it rises
to 3% of the total US electric power consumption.  The upper limit on
the Internet's consumption contribution from a different memo is 36TWh/year.





