Washington, United States (Enmaeya News) — The rising power demand from artificial intelligence data centers is straining the U.S. electricity grid and could lead to higher costs for consumers, a new report warns.
A joint study from Carnegie Mellon University and North Carolina State University found electricity prices could climb as much as 8% nationwide by 2028, with some states seeing increases of up to 25%.
The surge comes as AI technologies expand and U.S. data centers handle requests from around the world. To ease pressure, several state governments are weighing new rules.
In Ohio, regulators proposed that data centers cover 85% of their projected energy use regardless of actual consumption, after residents were hit with unexpectedly high bills in June.
Tech companies are also working on solutions. Firms like Amazon, Microsoft and Google are investing in clean power, including plans for nuclear energy. But demand is rising faster than the transition. Most of the nuclear facilities are still under negotiation or construction and are not expected to come online until 2030.
Energy use at data centers is also uneven, spiking during peak demand for AI systems but dropping sharply during off hours. Companies say nuclear projects could eventually reduce grid stress and even provide extra revenue, since excess power could be sold back into the system.
