It's not "free" electricity if he's paying for hosting. A % of that hosting fee is to cover their electricity costs, based on typical consumption of a typical client. Hosting companies arn't going to take a hit to their profits because they're nice people. Likewise if he and others in that DC start to raise their power consumption noticeably then those costs are going to be passed on at some point. On the other hand if he means he's renting residential space, then he'll have some questions to answer when the landlord gets a powerbill that's hundreds of % higher.