Big Tech is investing big in Pennsylvania. Gov. Josh Shapiro announced on Monday that Amazon is spending $20 billion to build high-tech data centers across the commonwealth. But critics say it’s unfairly taking power from other users.

“I’m proud to announce that Amazon will be making an initial investment of at least $20 billion,” Shapiro said on Monday. “That’s with a ‘b’: billion dollars.”

Amazon Web Services plans to plant multiple high-tech cloud computing and artificial intelligence innovation campuses across Pennsylvania. Shapiro says it’s the largest private sector investment to date in the state’s entire history.

So far, two sites are planned: one in Bucks County, and one in Luzerne County.

Shapiro says across those two sites, Amazon will create more than a thousand permanent jobs and thousands of construction jobs.

“I think one of the most important things to Amazon was speed,” Shapiro said, “both the speed to construction and the speed to getting these computers up and running and winning the AI race.”

But it’s that need for speed, particularly with artificial intelligence, that has critics questioning the fairness of it all.

“AI is moving so quickly, I think we need to extend the frontier,” Benjamin Lee, an engineering professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said.

Lee says these 100-megawatt — or more — data centers will require massive amounts of energy.

And particularly, the one in Salem Township, Luzerne County, is right next to the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station — a nuclear power plant.

That’s where the regulation dilemmas begin. Lee says Big Tech companies like Amazon are departing from the norm by plugging directly into a power plant, instead of the electric grid.

“Normally, data centers would connect with the grid operator and say, ‘I would like to build a data center here,’ and you will give me the electricity that we’ve contracted to purchase,’” Lee said.

According to the Associated Press, that allows the tech companies to bypass grid maintenance costs that others pay for, potentially raising electricity prices and reducing power to the general public.

On top of this, Amazon’s trying to eventually procure additional energy — 960 megawatts — to its data center by the Susquehanna plant, which is 40% of the plant’s capacity.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has rejected that proposal — at least for now.

In a statement, Lehigh Valley state Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-18) calls this a “critical moment” of balancing economic growth with protecting Pennsylvania ratepayers.

“I am working with the Governor and the [Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission] to ensure large users pay their share and do not raise bills for seniors and working families,” Boscola said.

The AP reports that power plants say the arrangement would actually benefit the public in bypassing costly, long power lines and leaving more grid capacity for everyone else.