The Rising Cost of Electricity: A Looming Issue for Voters in the 2026 Midterms
Voter anger over the rising cost of living is set to be a defining factor in the upcoming midterm elections. With electric bills skyrocketing and debates over who should foot the bill for Big Tech's data centers, communities are facing pivotal decisions that will shape the political landscape.
In states like New Jersey, Virginia, and Georgia, electricity costs have taken center stage. These states, which are home to a significant number of data centers, saw voters express their economic concerns as a top priority. Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for a heated debate over affordability, with both parties aiming to gain control of Congress.
President Donald Trump has signaled his focus on affordability for the 2026 elections, as Republicans aim to maintain their congressional majority. Meanwhile, Democrats blame Trump for the rising household costs. Electricity bills, increasing faster than the average U.S. inflation rate, are a clear example of this affordability crisis.
"Electricity prices are the most pressing issue when it comes to affordability right now," says Dan Cassino, a professor and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
The situation is only expected to worsen, with many Americans facing potential increases in their monthly bills during the midterm campaigns. Gas and electric utilities have already sought or secured rate increases totaling over $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, according to PowerLines, a consumer advocacy organization. This is more than double the amount from the same period last year.
With approximately 80 million Americans struggling to pay their utility bills, the decision to pay for electricity often becomes a matter of life and death, or a choice between eating and heating, as Charles Hua, founder of PowerLines, puts it.
In Georgia, the construction of data centers has caused community unrest. Peter Hubbard, a victorious Democrat, accused Republicans on the utility regulatory commission of rubber-stamping rate increases by Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co. Georgia Power bills have increased sixfold in the past two years, with the average residential customer now paying $175 per month.
Hubbard's message resonated with voters like Rebecca Mekonnen, who lives in Stone Mountain, Atlanta. Mekonnen voted for the Democratic challengers and expressed her desire for more affordable pricing, stating, "It's running my pocket right now."
Georgia Power is now proposing a $15 billion expansion of its power generation capacity primarily to meet the demands of data centers. Hubbard questions whether data centers will bear their fair share of the costs or if regular ratepayers will be burdened with the expense.
The midterm elections will see battleground states where fast-rising electric bills and data center hotspots are causing community uprisings. States like California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas are all facing these challenges.
Analysts attribute the rising electric bills to a combination of factors, including expensive grid modernization projects and the need to harden infrastructure against extreme weather and wildfires. Additionally, the explosive demand from data centers, bitcoin miners, and the revival of domestic manufacturing, along with rising natural gas prices, are contributing to the issue.
"The cost of utility service has become a major concern for consumers, just like the cost of eggs," says Jennifer Bosco of the National Consumer Law Center.
In some areas, data centers are driving a significant increase in electricity demand. According to the International Energy Agency, a typical AI data center uses as much electricity as 100,000 homes. Some data centers could require more electricity than cities like Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or New Orleans.
While many states have welcomed data centers as an economic boost, legislatures and utility commissions have also been flooded with proposals to protect regular ratepayers from paying for the connection of data centers to the grid. Communities that oppose living near data centers are also pushing back.
A recent poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 36% of U.S. adults consider electricity bills a major source of stress. As winter approaches, some states are warning that funding for low-income heating aid is being delayed due to the federal government shutdown.
Electric rates vary widely across states and utilities. For-profit utilities have been raising rates faster than municipally owned utilities or cooperatives, according to federal data. In the mid-Atlantic grid region, ratepayers are paying billions of dollars to power data centers, including those not yet built.
Next June, electric bills in this region will see even higher wholesale electricity costs, designed to attract new power plants to serve data centers. Governors from the region, including Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Wes Moore of Maryland, are pressuring the grid operator PJM Interconnection to contain these increases.
Drew Maloney, CEO of the Edison Electric Institute, a trade association of for-profit electric utilities, points to Democratic-leaning states as the drivers of higher electric bills. He highlights states like California, where wildfires are driving grid upgrades, and New England, where natural gas is expensive, as examples of fast-rising rates.
However, blue states are also attracting data centers, and some red states are experiencing higher electric bills. In Indiana, a growing data center hotspot, the Citizens Action Coalition reported that residential customers of for-profit electric utilities were facing the most severe rate increases in at least two decades. Republican Governor Mike Braun has decried these hikes, stating, "We can't take it anymore."
The issue of rising electricity costs and the impact of data centers is a complex and controversial one. It raises questions about the balance between economic development and the burden on regular ratepayers. As the midterm elections approach, these issues will undoubtedly shape the political discourse and influence voter decisions.
What are your thoughts on this matter? Do you think data centers should bear more responsibility for their energy consumption, or is this a necessary trade-off for economic growth? Share your opinions in the comments below!
