Baltimore Sun:

The NSA is Baltimore Gas & Electric’s largest customer, using as much electricity as the city of Annapolis, according to James Bamford, an intelligence expert and author of two comprehensive books on the agency.

Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the NSA has ramped up its operations, and the electricity needed to sustain major projects — such as the warrantless surveillance program and technology modernization programs — has increased sharply.

The demand for electricity to operate its expanding intelligence systems has left the high-tech eavesdropping agency on the verge of exceeding its power supply, the lifeblood of its sprawling 350-acre Fort Meade headquarters, according to current and former intelligence officials.

Kinda makes you wonder what additional processing they’ve been doing since 2001, eh?

Bush’s illegal warrantless surveillance program started in 2001.

This is 2006. So the 2001 program isn’t what’s causing them to run out of power.

So what additional programs have they got now that need all that power?