Utilities Push for $31B in Higher Charges—What It Means for Your Electric Bill

2 hours ago 1

Bibhu Pattnaik

Sat, January 31, 2026 astatine 9:13 AM CST 2 min read

The energy bills of mean Americans are acceptable to emergence sharply arsenic inferior companies person requested a staggering $31 cardinal successful complaint increases in 2025, arsenic revealed by a caller survey conducted by PowerLines, a non-profit enactment advocating for inferior customers.

The study revealed that the petition for complaint hikes is implicit doubly the $15 cardinal sought successful 2024. This surge is chiefly owed to the bonzer request from the information centers of large tech firms, which are expanding their power-intensive AI information centers crossed the country.

While some requests are inactive pending approval, many person been approved and volition commencement impacting lawsuit bills this year. Southern states were deed the hardest, with utilities seeking support for implicit $14 cardinal successful complaint hikes. Florida Power and Light’s $9 billion complaint hike request, mostly approved, accounted for a important information of this.

AI and Data Centers Drive $1.1 Trillion U.S. Power Grid Investment Push

Investor-owned utilities successful the US are projected to walk $1.1 trillion on a monolithic enlargement of the power grid betwixt 2025 and 2029, according to the Edison Electric Institute, a almighty industry lobbying group. It cites data centers and AI as key drivers of inferior spending.

The expanding powerfulness request of Big Tech is facing increasing nationalist backlash. Earlier this month, Microsoft pledged to “pay its ain way” for the energy it uses as it scales its AI data center fleet.

Despite the rising costs, immoderate powerfulness grid researchers warn that utilities hazard overbuilding new power plants and transmission lines that volition yet not beryllium needed.

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This nonfiction Utilities Push for $31B successful Higher Charges—What It Means for Your Electric Bill primitively appeared connected Benzinga.com