Data centers now consume approximately six percent of all electricity produced in the United States, and their continued growth could push residential power bills up by as much as 57 percent in some markets by 2030, according to research from North Carolina State University published in May 2026.
US data center electrical capacity reached 29.2 gigawatts in 2025, part of a global total of 67.7 gigawatts. US data center power consumption grew by approximately 36 percent over the prior two years, reflecting the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence computing infrastructure.
The research team modeled scenarios in which data centers continued their current rate of expansion and assessed the potential rate impact on residential customers in utility service territories with high concentrations of data center load. In some markets, the modeled increase reached 57 percent by 2030, driven by utilities recovering costs of new transmission lines, generation capacity, and grid upgrades required to serve large new commercial loads.
The 57 percent figure applies to specific high-density markets rather than the national average. The findings have drawn attention from utility regulators in states including Virginia, Georgia, and North Carolina, where data center load growth has been most pronounced.
The rate impact question has become a recurring issue before state public utility commissions, where residential customer advocates have argued that large commercial loads should bear a higher proportion of the infrastructure costs their growth generates.
Source: NC State News -- https://news.ncsu.edu/2026/05/data-centers-power-bills/