Artificial intelligence is driving a massive data center building boom across the country.
Companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta are racing to build enormous facilities to power AI. These data centers require huge amounts of electricity—and that demand is putting new pressure on an electric grid that is already struggling to keep up.
Here’s the problem: instead of making it easier to build affordable, clean energy, the Trump administration along with the Pennsylvania State Senate is making clean energy harder to build.
That could leave Pennsylvania families paying more for electricity while some of the world’s richest companies reap the benefits of the AI boom.
Data centers are increasing electricity demand—and costs
Data centers use enormous amounts of electricity. Some facilities consume as much power as a small city.
As more data centers connect to the grid, utilities need to build new generation and transmission infrastructure and bring more expensive power sources online. Those costs can ultimately show up in electricity bills.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas analyzed the economic impact of the data center boom. Its research found that even a moderate expansion could push up retail electricity prices and inflation. The researchers also found that slower growth in wind and solar could nearly double the inflationary effect of data centers.
That is an important warning.
Data centers are increasing demand for electricity at the same time federal policies are making it harder to add affordable renewable energy to the grid.
Pennsylvania cannot afford to get this equation wrong.
Families are already struggling with their electric bills
Higher electricity prices are not just an economic statistic. They are hitting families every month.
One in six U.S. households is behind on utility bills, and total utility debt is projected to reach roughly $25 billion by the end of 2026. The average overdue utility balance has risen more than 8% since Trump took office, reaching $817.
Pennsylvania families are feeling the pressure, too. A Pennsylvania energy report estimates that 10% increases in residential energy bills are expected largely due to data-center-driven demand, including new costly fossil-fuel generation and transmission upgrades.
At the same time, data centers are moving into communities across Pennsylvania.
That raises a basic question:
Who should pay for the infrastructure needed to power the AI boom?
The answer should not be families who are already struggling to afford their electric bills.
Big Tech companies are some of the most profitable corporations in the world. They should pay their fair share of the new electricity generation and grid infrastructure their facilities require.
Data centers can also mean more air pollution
The costs of data centers aren't limited to electricity bills.
Data centers need reliable power around the clock. Many facilities use diesel generators and other backup power sources that can emit air pollutants.
Approximately four million people live within one mile of EPA-regulated data centers, putting them close to sources of diesel exhaust and other pollution. And that pollution doesn't necessarily stay close to the facility. Some pollutants can travel hundreds of miles, affecting air quality in communities far away.
The potential health costs are significant.
An analysis of planned data centers estimated that pollution associated with their electricity use could create between $5.7 billion and $9.2 billion in annual public health costs, along with an estimated 190,000 to 300,000 asthma symptom cases and between 370 and 595 premature deaths each year.
And the burden is not shared equally. One in five U.S. data centers is located in communities that are already overburdened by environmental pollution.
Pennsylvania should not allow communities to absorb these health costs while Big Tech collects the profits.
Trump is putting Big Tech's interests ahead of families
The Trump administration has made clear that it wants to accelerate data center and AI development.
In December 2025, the administration established a data center team within the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation aimed at helping companies skirt protections as part of the administration’s AI push.
At the same time, the administration has moved to roll back federal support for clean energy.
That combination makes little sense.
If we know data centers are going to dramatically increase electricity demand, we should be building more affordable clean energy—not making it harder to add the low-cost clean resources that can help meet that demand.
The Dallas Fed's research makes the stakes clear: the slower renewable energy grows, the greater the inflationary impact of the data center boom could be.
Pennsylvania can choose a better path
Pennsylvania does not have to follow Washington's lead.
Our state must protect Pennsylvania families. That means making sure data centers:
- Pay their fair share of the electricity and grid infrastructure they require.
- Do not shift their costs onto residential ratepayers.
- Meet strong standards for air pollution and environmental protection.
- Give local communities a meaningful voice in where facilities are built.
- Create good jobs and economic benefits for the communities that host them.
- Are powered by affordable, reliable energy—including new clean energy resources.
Pennsylvania lawmakers have already begun moving in this direction.
The State House has passed legislation to regulate data centers, protect consumers from higher electricity costs, give communities more say over development, and strengthen environmental protections.
Governor Josh Shapiro has also taken steps to establish new standards for large data center facilities, including requirements related to energy affordability, environmental protection, community engagement, and workforce development.
These are important steps. But as long as the State Senate refuses to act, we won't see permanent laws that protect us put in place.
Don't let Big Tech's AI boom become Pennsylvania families' bill
No matter how any of us feels about artificial intelligence, it's likely not going anywhere. So we must ensure that the data centers that get built don't mean higher electric bills, more pollution, and less power for communities to decide what gets built in their own backyards.
Pennsylvania has seen this movie before. Powerful industries promise jobs and economic growth. Politicians rush to get out of their way. And regular people are left to deal with the costs when things go wrong.
We should not repeat that mistake with AI and data centers.
Demand for more energy is skyrocketing, and our elected officials must ensure that Big Tech pay its fair share. Pennsylvania families should not have to sacrifice their health, their communities, or their ability to afford their electric bills to meet the growing demand.