"Between 2018 and 2023, the share represented by data centers in total U.S. electricity use rose from 1.9% to 4.4%, according to a study published last week in the journal Environmental Research Letters."
"By the end of the decade, the national average wholesale electricity cost could rise between 6% and 29%, according to the study, which modeled several different energy use scenarios based on existing power demand forecasts. This increase in utility prices is primarily tied to data center expansion, with cryptocurrency mining also included in the modeling of higher costs."
"In some areas, those price hikes could be even steeper. In Virginia, for example, one of the epicenters of the country's data center boom, electricity generation costs could spike as much as 57%."
"To meet that demand, the study's modeling projects that utilities will lean heavily on natural gas-a fuel source whose price volatility adds its own layer of uncertainty to future consumer costs."
U.S. electricity demand was relatively stable for years, but rising retail prices now outpace inflation. Data centers are a major driver, with their share of total U.S. electricity use increasing from 1.9% in 2018 to 4.4% in 2023. Modeling based on existing demand forecasts projects national average wholesale electricity costs could rise between 6% and 29% by the end of the decade. The projected increases are primarily tied to data center expansion, with cryptocurrency mining also included in higher-cost scenarios. Some regions may face larger spikes, such as Virginia, where generation costs could rise as much as 57%. Grid power to data centers grew 22% last year and could reach up to 17% of U.S. electricity usage by decade’s end, with utilities relying heavily on natural gas.
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