US Data Centers Drive $6.5 Billion Power Cost Surge Amid AI Boom

Data centers are reshaping America's energy landscape, adding $6.5 billion to electricity acquisition costs in PJM Interconnection's latest auction. The grid operator serving 20% of the US population now faces $23.1 billion in projected power expenses through 2028—a staggering near-doubling of recent auction totals.

Artificial intelligence workloads are proving particularly voracious, with advanced computations and cooling demands creating an insatiable appetite for megawatts. The sector's explosive growth has made data centers the fastest-growing energy consumers nationwide, translating to higher utility bills for businesses and households alike.

PJM's December auction results reveal the infrastructure toll of our digital economy. Where server farms once occupied niche demand, they now command nearly half of all projected power expenditures across three major capacity auctions—a tangible metric of AI's hidden energy footprint.