A report in The Lewiston Tribune details how data center expansion in the Pacific Northwest is pushing up natural gas consumption across regional utilities. The analysis ties increased gas-fired generation to growing compute loads as hydropower resources face seasonal constraints and new renewable capacity lags behind demand growth. Northwest utilities, including those serving Idaho and Washington, are revising load forecasts upward to account for data center interconnection requests. Higher gas burn rates risk increasing both carbon emissions and electricity costs for residential and commercial ratepayers in the region.