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.