More states move to make data centers pay their own power costs

A widening group of states is rewriting utility rules to make data centers shoulder the cost of the power they consume, an effort to keep surging AI-driven demand from pushing up electricity bills for households and other businesses.

Oregon, New Jersey, Delaware and Alabama have each moved to separate data centers into their own rate structures, according to a survey of recent state actions. The push reflects mounting concern that the infrastructure needed to serve hyperscale computing gets spread across all ratepayers unless regulators intervene.

Why it matters. Power has become the binding constraint on data center development, and where the cost lands is now a live political question. By carving data centers into distinct rate classes, states are trying to preserve the tax-base and construction upside of the boom while shielding voters from its utility-bill side effects — a balance that will shape where projects can realistically be built.

The numbers. Oregon approved roughly a 30% rate increase for data centers under its 2025 POWER Act, even as residential rates fell 1.3% and commercial rates 2.1%. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill signed three bills creating a separate rate process for data centers seeking 50 or more megawatts. Delaware’s House passed measures mandating a distinct data center rate class and requiring the facilities to secure their own power within 10 years. On the PJM grid, capacity prices have risen roughly tenfold amid the demand surge.

What’s next. Alabama’s Public Service Commission is weighing new contract guidelines, and federal action is building — the White House launched a Ratepayer Protection Pledge in March 2026 and Congress introduced infrastructure-cost legislation in June. “These changes ensure that costs created by data centers… are more accurately reflected in their rates,” said Oregon PUC Chair Letha Tawney. Expect more states to follow as AI policy collides with grid economics.