A wave of AI-driven data center construction is straining U.S. power grids and lifting household electricity bills, with Georgia offering a stark case study. Georgia Power has enacted six rate increases in three years as Plant Vogtle comes online and energy-hungry data centers proliferate, prompting consumer advocates to warn of cost shifts to residents—even as the utility denies it. A CBS analysis and outside research suggest similar pressures in at least 13 states, with some communities seeing bills jump as much as 267% over five years. Policy responses are uneven: Maine’s governor vetoed a proposed moratorium on new data centers, while Georgia Power agreed to a rate freeze and to apply revenues from large customers to ease residential costs. For families already cutting back on heat and hot water, relief may arrive too late.
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