Data centers and utility costs: The sleeper issue that could play a huge role in upcoming elections

Leaders in both parties are locked in competition to encourage tech giants to put sprawling data centers in their states, looking for an economic leg up and an innovation edge in the early days of the artificial intelligence boom

Leaders in both parties are locked in competition to encourage tech giants to put sprawling data centers in their states, looking for an economic leg up and an innovation edge in the early days of the artificial intelligence boom.

Now, those same leaders are dealing with a downside that’s more apparent by the month: Those electricity-hungry data centers are a major contributor to rising utility bills for cost-conscious residents who have been concerned about rising prices for years.

“Voters are mad as hell about energy prices increasing,” Virginia state Del. Shelly Simonds, a Democrat, said. “And they’re mad about affordability in general. And anybody who ignores these issues does so at their peril. It’s definitely going to be an issue during the midterms.”

This is becoming clearer in her state — considered the nation’s data center hub — and New Jersey, which has experienced some of the largest year-over-year electricity bill hikes on a percentage basis. They also happen to be the two states with the biggest elections this fall.

Data centers are required to run everything from Uber to Netflix to Amazon. But those required to run artificial intelligence programs demand an outsize amount of power compared with their predecessors: A recent Bloomberg News analysis of electricity prices across the country found that monthly electricity costs have gone up as much as 267% compared with five years ago in locations near substantial data center activity.