A Bank of America Institute analysis documented in early 2026 found that consumer utility payments across the US increased nearly 4% during the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period the prior year, with data center expansion in Southern states a significant contributing factor. South Carolina has received billions of dollars in data center investment in recent years, including a nearly $3 billion computing center project announced in Spartanburg County by investment advisory firm Northmark Strategies.
The PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization serving 65 million customers across 13 states, shows auction pricing rising from $34 per megawatt-day in 2023-24 to $329 per megawatt-day for 2026-27, a signal that energy markets are pricing in sustained demand growth. Senior BofA Institute economist David Tinsley said prices are likely to continue rising as generation capacity cannot be built fast enough to match the rate of data center deployment across the region.
South Carolina faces additional constraints from limited natural gas pipeline capacity, which Duke Energy and Dominion Energy executives have cited in discussions with state lawmakers about future energy supply. The Southern Environmental Law Center commissioned a study warning that data center growth uncertainty could drive overinvestment in power infrastructure to meet demand that never materializes, with costs ultimately borne by residential and commercial ratepayers. US electricity demand is projected to grow at approximately 2.5% annually through 2035, with data centers accounting for a disproportionate share of that increase.
Source: Greenville Journal -- https://greenvillejournal.com/news/rise-in-data-centers-population-pushing-up-energy-costs/