Data Centers' Power Demand Sparks Outrage, Drives Up Electricity Costs

• Rising electricity costs, fueled by energy-hungry data centers for AI, are sparking bipartisan political concern.
• Politicians, including Donald Trump, insist tech companies, not regular people, should bear the cost of data center power.
• The issue is intertwined with cost-of-living concerns and upcoming midterm elections, with some states already seeing electoral consequences.
• Data centers, some needing more power than a small city, are rapidly expanding across the US to meet AI demand.
• States and utilities are exploring ways to make data centers pay their fair share, but a consensus on what that means remains elusive.