How AI data centers are leading to big electricity bills in NY and NJ — and who’s being hit hardest
Every summer brings higher electricity bills as air conditioning use spikes—but this year, there’s another major factor driving up costs: artificial intelligence.
Massive data centers run by tech giants like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are now competing with households for power. These facilities, which support the rapid expansion of AI, consume enormous amounts of electricity, placing extra strain on the grid.
The situation is worse in states like New York and New Jersey, which have shut down nuclear power plants while pushing forward with costly green energy mandates. As a result, energy prices are surging—and consumers are feeling the pain.
“My bill jumped from $174 in June to over $300 in July. I was floored,” said Lisa Marinez, a mother of two in Clark, NJ. She was told by her utility, PSE&G, to expect only a 17% increase. “We haven’t changed anything in the house—same size, same usage.”
Electricity prices are driven by supply and demand, much like the stock market, explained Abe Silverman of Johns Hopkins University’s Ralph O’Connor Sustaining Energy Institute. “Now, all of a sudden, we have data centers coming in and buying up a lot of the supply.”
According to Bloomberg, data centers are now growing faster in energy demand than electric vehicles and other sectors, outpacing the grid’s ability to expand. Building new power plants can take five to ten years and cost billions.
Big Tech is scrambling for solutions: Amazon is investing over $500 million in nuclear energy, Google is buying power from a nuclear developer, and Microsoft is working with an energy firm to revive Three Mile Island. But those efforts don’t help families like Marinez’s right now.
“My husband and I both work, and we’re struggling,” she said. “If we don’t pay, they’ll shut it off.”
Others in her area are sounding the alarm, too. On a local Facebook group she moderates, one person wrote, “Didn’t get my bill yet, but I’m afraid.” Another shared, “Our bill went up 20%—and we used less.”
PSE&G told The Post that they strive to keep rates as low as possible while maintaining safety and reliability, acknowledging that any increase is difficult for customers.
In upstate New York, the Public Service Commission just approved National Grid’s request to raise gas and electric rates—by around $600 annually, per Syracuse.com. Meanwhile, New York State Electric and Gas Company plans to hike residential rates by 23.7%.
“It’s electricity or food,” said Karen Hoover of Broome County, speaking to the Sullivan County Democrat. “The electric gets paid… We can’t afford another rate hike. The bills are astronomical now.”
Silverman suggested two policy options to protect consumers: imposing tariffs on data centers or removing them from regional electricity markets altogether, forcing them to secure their own power sources.
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