Is AI Raising Your Power Bill?
Data centers are the fastest-growing source of electricity demand in America. Here is what households in every state are paying, where the data centers are, and what the evidence says about the link.
01The National Picture
The average American household paid 18.01 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity over the 12 months to July 2026, up 39% from the 12 months to July 2019. At an average of 870 kWh a month, that is a bill of about $157. Prices were nearly flat in the late 2010s, jumped with natural gas prices in 2022, and have kept climbing since, just as data center construction took off. Commercial-sector electricity use, the category that includes most data centers, grew 17% in five years nationally.
| Year | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US residential, cents per kWh | 12.87 | 13.01 | 13.15 | 13.66 | 15.04 | 16.00 | 16.48 | 17.30 |
Monthly residential and commercial average prices, US Energy Information Administration. Annual figures are revenue-weighted averages for each calendar year.
02Where Power Bills Rose the Most
Residential price change from the 12 months to July 2019 to the 12 months to July 2026. States wholly or largely in the PJM grid region, which stretches from New Jersey to Illinois and includes Virginia's data center hub, are marked in red. Their prices rose an average of 53%, against 32% for states outside PJM.
03Every State
| State | Price (¢/kWh) | 1-year change | Since 2019 | Avg bill | Data centers' share (2023) | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 16.44 | +4.8% | +32% | $185 | 1.7% | |
| Alaska | 26.85 | +5.2% | +19% | $158 | ||
| Arizona | 15.40 | +1.7% | +22% | $162 | 7.4% | |
| Arkansas | 13.43 | +7.0% | +38% | $141 | ||
| California | 32.99 | +3.3% | +73% | $161 | 3.7% | |
| Colorado* | 16.31 | +7.8% | +34% | $108 | 2.7% | |
| Connecticut | 27.99 | -7.1% | +28% | $196 | 1.0% | |
| Delaware | 17.79 | +5.7% | +42% | $165 | PJM | |
| District of Columbia | 24.20 | +21.9% | +85% | $153 | PJM | |
| Florida | 15.39 | +5.5% | +33% | $169 | 0.6% | |
| Georgia | 15.12 | +4.5% | +29% | $162 | 4.3% | |
| Hawaii | 43.51 | +5.6% | +32% | $224 | 0.1% | |
| Idaho | 12.65 | +8.9% | +27% | $114 | 0.6% | |
| Illinois | 18.79 | +11.4% | +45% | $132 | 5.5% | Part PJM |
| Indiana | 16.94 | +9.0% | +35% | $158 | 0.2% | Part PJM |
| Iowa | 14.13 | +4.5% | +14% | $121 | 11.4% | |
| Kansas | 15.09 | +5.2% | +17% | $132 | 0.02% | |
| Kentucky | 13.92 | +6.5% | +30% | $154 | 2.2% | Part PJM |
| Louisiana | 12.99 | +5.6% | +34% | $156 | 0.08% | |
| Maine | 29.31 | +10.0% | +68% | $156 | 0.2% | |
| Maryland | 22.08 | +18.9% | +66% | $209 | 0.2% | PJM |
| Massachusetts | 30.43 | +1.1% | +40% | $182 | 2.1% | |
| Michigan | 21.05 | +7.4% | +37% | $133 | 0.5% | Part PJM |
| Minnesota | 16.22 | +4.1% | +23% | $120 | 1.2% | |
| Mississippi | 14.77 | +7.8% | +32% | $171 | ||
| Missouri | 13.95 | +5.5% | +25% | $145 | 1.2% | |
| Montana | 13.84 | +9.5% | +26% | $115 | 3.7% | |
| Nebraska | 12.86 | +7.4% | +20% | $123 | 11.7% | |
| Nevada | 13.36 | -2.3% | +13% | $119 | 8.7% | |
| New Hampshire | 26.67 | +13.2% | +33% | $171 | 0.2% | |
| New Jersey | 23.78 | +12.2% | +51% | $158 | 5.4% | PJM |
| New Mexico* | 15.22 | +6.1% | +20% | $98 | 1.5% | |
| New York | 28.39 | +11.1% | +56% | $167 | 2.8% | |
| North Carolina | 14.77 | +5.8% | +31% | $152 | 1.9% | Part PJM |
| North Dakota | 12.32 | +6.6% | +19% | $132 | 15.4% | |
| Ohio | 18.25 | +11.7% | +46% | $158 | 1.6% | PJM |
| Oklahoma | 13.70 | +7.4% | +34% | $144 | 1.8% | |
| Oregon | 15.50 | +2.9% | +41% | $132 | 11.4% | |
| Pennsylvania | 20.70 | +12.8% | +51% | $174 | 3.2% | PJM |
| Rhode Island | 29.27 | +0.5% | +37% | $164 | 0.2% | |
| South Carolina | 15.64 | +6.0% | +26% | $165 | 2.5% | |
| South Dakota | 14.20 | +7.6% | +23% | $140 | 0.5% | |
| Tennessee | 13.56 | +4.2% | +24% | $162 | 1.3% | Part PJM |
| Texas | 15.96 | +4.8% | +38% | $176 | 4.6% | |
| Utah | 13.32 | +4.3% | +29% | $104 | 7.7% | |
| Vermont | 23.80 | +5.6% | +36% | $141 | ||
| Virginia | 16.48 | +11.5% | +39% | $173 | 25.6% | PJM |
| Washington | 14.12 | +12.7% | +46% | $132 | 5.7% | |
| West Virginia | 15.48 | +0.6% | +40% | $163 | PJM | |
| Wisconsin | 18.74 | +6.1% | +33% | $124 | 0.2% | |
| Wyoming | 14.01 | +7.8% | +26% | $115 | 11.3% |
Prices and bills: EIA, 12 months to July 2026; the average bill is the average price times average monthly use per residential customer. Data center share: EPRI (May 2024), 2023 estimates; states EPRI does not list had little or no data center load in its estimate. *Prices for Colorado run through April 2026, New Mexico run through March 2026, the latest complete 12 months EIA has published for them.
04Where the Data Centers Are
The Electric Power Research Institute estimated that data centers used about 4% of America's electricity in 2023, led by Virginia at more than a quarter of the state's total. Its February 2026 update puts the national share at 4-5% in 2024 and 9-17% by 2030, and expects Virginia to reach roughly 40% to nearly 60%. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's June 2026 update estimates 4.7% in 2024, rising to about 12% by 2030.
EPRI, Powering Intelligence (May 2024), Table A1, the most recent study to publish data center shares state by state (44 states). Its 2030 scenarios are lower than EPRI's 2026 update, which projects Virginia at roughly 40% to nearly 60%. Some states with little 2023 load, including Indiana, Louisiana and Mississippi, are among the fastest growing in EPRI's 2026 update.
05Do Data Center States Pay More?
Not so far, at least not in a straight line. Each dot below is a state: how much of its electricity data centers used in 2023, against how much its residential price has risen since 2019. The correlation across states is -0.15, which is close to none. The states where data centers use 7% or more of the power (Oregon, Virginia, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Nebraska, North Dakota, Iowa, Nevada) saw prices rise 25% on average, against 36% in states where they use under 2%.
That is broadly consistent with research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Brattle Group, which found that states with fast growth in total electricity demand tended to see smaller price increases, because fixed grid costs were spread over more sales; the effect was weaker for residential prices alone. The biggest increases have come from fuel costs, spending on transmission and distribution lines, wildfire and storm costs, and, in the PJM region, a capacity market that data center forecasts have pushed to record prices. The risk is about what comes next: most of the planned data center load has not been built yet.
Residential price change since 2019 (EIA) against data centers' share of state electricity in 2023 (EPRI). The District of Columbia is left out of the correlation; it has no data center load in EPRI's table and its prices are set inside the PJM region.
06The PJM Capacity Auction
PJM runs the grid for 13 states and Washington, DC, and holds an annual auction to pay power plants and other resources to be available years ahead. The price jumped more than elevenfold in two auctions, and the last three have hit the price cap. PJM's independent market monitor attributes $9.3 billion of the 2025/26 auction's cost to data center load, and 46% of the cost of the last four auctions combined, $29.4 billion of $63.6 billion. Much of it reflects forecast data center demand that has not been built yet. PJM itself has also pointed to power plant retirements and changes to the auction's rules.
| Delivery year | Price ($/MW-day) | Cost attributed to data centers (market monitor) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | $28.92 | – |
| 2025/26 | $269.92 | $9.3 billion |
| 2026/27 | $329.17 (cap) | $7.3 billion |
| 2027/28 | $333.44 (cap) | $6.5 billion |
| 2028/29 | $325.00 (cap) | $6.3 billion |
Households felt it in June 2025, when the 2025/26 price reached bills: New Jersey utilities raised residential bills by roughly 17-20%, about $27 a month for a typical PSE&G customer, and Baltimore Gas and Electric customers about $16 a month. In Washington, DC, the Office of the People's Counsel attributed about half of Pepco's roughly $20 monthly increase to the auction. Partly because of the price cap, New Jersey's June 2026 changes were roughly flat.
07What States Are Doing
States have started writing special rates and laws that make big data centers commit to paying for the grid built for them, so the cost does not fall on households if a project leaves.
| State | Measure | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | Dominion GS-5 rate class (ordered November 2025, effective 2027) | Customers of 25 MW or more sign 14-year contracts and pay at least 85% of contracted transmission and distribution and 60% of generation, whether they use it or not |
| Ohio | AEP Ohio data center tariff (July 2025) | New data centers pay for at least 85% of the power they request, for up to 12 years |
| Indiana | Indiana Michigan Power large-load settlement (February 2025) | 80% minimum demand charges and 12-year terms for big new loads |
| Georgia | Georgia Power large-load rules (January 2025) and base-rate freeze to 2028 (fuel and storm costs excluded) | Customers over 100 MW can be charged for upfront costs and longer contracts |
| Texas | Senate Bill 6 (June 2025) | Loads of 75 MW or more share interconnection costs, and new large loads can be curtailed in grid emergencies |
| Oregon | POWER Act (2025) | A separate rate class for loads of 20 MW or more; Portland General Electric's first order under it cut residential rates 1.3% and raised data center rates about 29% |
| Louisiana | Entergy Louisiana / Meta approval (August 2025) | Meta pays the cost of new gas plants serving its data center for 15 years, though not the new transmission line |
08What the Research Says
- Costs can be shifted. Harvard's Electricity Law Initiative (March 2025) reviewed about 50 regulatory proceedings and documented confidential contracts and rate designs that can shift data center costs to other customers. The Union of Concerned Scientists found $4.3 billion of 2024 transmission connections for data centers in seven PJM states passed on to local utility customers.
- Costs will rise. A Carnegie Mellon and North Carolina State study (July 2025) projected data centers and crypto mining could raise average US generation costs 8% by 2030, and more than 25% in parts of Virginia.
- So far, growth has helped. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Brattle Group (2025-2026) found states with load growth have tended to see smaller price increases, and that customers outside PJM have been largely shielded so far.
- Wholesale is not retail. A Bloomberg analysis (September 2025) found wholesale prices up as much as 267% between 2020 and 2025 at grid points near data centers. That is a wholesale figure, not a household bill increase.
09How This Is Counted
- Prices are average residential retail prices from the US Energy Information Administration, by state and month. To smooth out seasonal swings, each state's price is the 12-month total of residential revenue divided by residential sales. The latest month is July 2026; EIA publishes with a lag of about two months, and this page updates itself when new data arrives.
- Bills are the average price times the average monthly use per residential customer in each state. EIA's price is average revenue per kilowatt-hour, so it includes energy, delivery and other charges collected by the utility.
- Data center shares are EPRI's 2023 estimates, the most recent published state by state. They exclude crypto mining. Newer studies give national figures and capacity in megawatts, not state shares.
- PJM states are those wholly or largely served by the PJM Interconnection; several more are partly inside it.
- US Energy Information Administration, Electricity retail sales by state and sector (API)
- EPRI, Powering Intelligence (May 2024) and Powering Intelligence 2026 (February 2026); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, United States Data Center Energy Usage Report (December 2024) and June 2026 update
- PJM Interconnection, Base Residual Auction results; Monitoring Analytics (PJM independent market monitor) auction analyses
- New Jersey Board of Public Utilities; Virginia State Corporation Commission; Public Utilities Commission of Ohio; Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; Georgia Public Service Commission; Oregon Public Utility Commission; Louisiana Public Service Commission; Texas Senate Bill 6
- Harvard Electricity Law Initiative (2025); Union of Concerned Scientists (2025); Carnegie Mellon University and NC State Open Energy Outlook (2025); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Brattle Group (2025-2026); Bloomberg (2025)