A 20% Surge Hits 13 States—And It’s Only the Beginnin
Electricity bill; Electricity prices are surging across the U.S.—especially in 13 northeastern states—due to the exploding demand for power from AI-driven data centers. PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest power grid operator, plans to hike prices over 20% this summer, according to Reuters. It blames the strain on low electricity supply and a massive spike in demand driven by the tech industry’s race to expand artificial intelligence capabilities.
Since 2020, electricity prices have been rising faster than inflation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Where’s the Spike Happening?
PJM services parts of the following states:
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- District of Columbia
In Pennsylvania, some businesses are facing a 29% increase, pushing Governor Josh Shapiro to threaten pulling out of PJM altogether. “We need speed from PJM, we need transparency from PJM and we need to keep consumer costs down with PJM,” Shapiro told Reuters.
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AI’s Energy Hunger: 800% Auction Spike and 180,000-Household Consumption
When ChatGPT went viral in 2023, tech companies started placing enormous bids to reserve energy. In PJM’s 2024 auction, rates for power plants jumped 800% to $269.92 per megawatt-day, up from just $28.92 the year before.
PJM’s 2024 annual report says the “proliferation of new data centers [is creating] major pockets of significant load growth.”
Spokesman Jeffrey Shields told Reuters:
“Prices will remain high as long as demand growth is outstripping supply–this is a basic economic policy… Right now, we need every megawatt we can get.”
Why Can’t We Just Add More Renewables?
PJM says it’s struggling to process over 2,000 pending applications from renewable energy projects. It paused new applications in 2022, worsening the supply shortage. The abrupt shutdown of fossil-fuel plants has made things worse.
Even Politeness Has a Cost: AI’s Power Addiction
AI chatbots consume roughly 10 times more energy than a normal Google search. Saying “please” and “thank you” to ChatGPT is reportedly costing OpenAI tens of millions of dollars in electricity, said CEO Sam Altman. In 2024 alone, ChatGPT’s daily power use equaled that of 180,000 households, Forbes reports.
And it’s not just OpenAI. Google’s 2025 environmental review noted a 27% increase in electricity usage and a 51% spike in carbon emissions since 2019, The Guardian reported. The company also used enough water to irrigate 54 golf courses, mostly for data center cooling.
“We’re now at a stage where AI and data centers that power it are competing directly with humans for land and water and energy,” said a Harvard School of Public Health data scientist at DC Climate Week, according to ESG Dive.
Big Tech’s Nuclear Power Play
Nuclear energy may be the long-term solution—but it’s not immediate. Microsoft is restarting Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania to fuel its AI products like Copilot. Fox Business reports that Amazon and Google have also signed nuclear agreements as they seek stable energy sources.
Leadership Changes and Ongoing Pressure
Adding to the turmoil, PJM CEO Manu Asthana will step down at the end of 2025. The move comes amid growing scrutiny over rising prices and delays in expanding renewable infrastructure.
The crisis happening in America’s power grids is not just a policy problem. It is a direct result of Big Tech’s endless need for electricity to train and run AI.
