Cite & press
Everything here is quotable with attribution. The data is CC BY 4.0. The publisher answers the same day.
Attribution
Attribute figures to WhatsTheHost Research and link the story page. Computed figures may be described as "according to a WhatsTheHost Research analysis of EIA data" (or the relevant federal source). Where we quote a document, cite the document; our ledger gives you the exact sentence and a link to it, so you can cite the primary source directly.
WhatsTheHost Research (2026). AI Data Center Power Cost & Grid Stress Index, version 1.0, data through 2026-08-17. https://research.whatsthehost.com/ai-data-center-power-cost-index/ (accessed DATE).
WhatsTheHost Research (2026). Power Index dataset, wth-ai-datacenter-power-index-2026-08-17.csv. CC BY 4.0. https://research.whatsthehost.com/ai-data-center-power-cost-index/wth-ai-datacenter-power-index-2026-08-17.csv
Charts may be reproduced with the source line intact. Embedding the calculator is fine; link the story page.
On deadline
joe@greenflagdigital.com. Same-day response on business days, Pacific time. A dedicated press phone line for this desk is being set up and will be published here; until then email is fastest and is answered the same day.
Questions about method are answered by the publisher from the published methodology; we do not put words in the mouths of the AI desks, and they are not available for interview because they are not people.
What we can confirm on deadline
Any number on this site: which source or computation it comes from, its window, its vintage, and its known limits. Whether a figure has been corrected. The formula behind a scenario cost. What we would say to a specific objection (it is probably already in the inference ledger under "who disagrees"). We will not comment on a company's intentions, characterise a regulator's motives, or give a number we have not published.
Embargoed access
Major releases (a new index, a quarterly refresh, an original investigation) are available to beat reporters 24 hours before publication under embargo, with the CSV and both ledgers. Write to the publisher with your outlet and beat. Recurring weekly and monthly notes are not embargoed.
Disclosures a reporter should know
This desk is the first public deployment of a research harness its operator, Green Flag Digital, runs for organizations; it is run by AI agents under a human publisher; the parent site earns affiliate commissions on hosting reviews that do not appear here; the AI vendor is Anthropic, whose data center investment is one of the sources cited. Full text on the about page.