Data-center demand pushes $23B in higher power costs onto PJM ratepayers through 2028
PJM's independent market monitor pinned data-center demand as the primary driver of $23 billion in higher capacity-market costs across 14 mid-Atlantic and Midwest states, running through at least the end of 2028. The cost is landing on residents — up to about $70 on a family's monthly bill — because rate rules let flexible data centers curb usage at peak moments to dodge the charges that fund grid buildout. No consumer advocate is positioned to contest that allocation, so the socialization of data-center infrastructure costs onto households is becoming structural, not incidental.
Source: fortune.com ↗
Data centers may be able to learn to predict when system loads will peak and consume little to no power in just the right period to avoid contributing to peak loads.
Why this matters
- → Data centers dodge peak-demand charges through load-shifting, socializing $23B in grid costs onto residential
- → Consumer advocates are legally barred from contesting cost allocations, leaving households undefended in rate-
- → Grid infrastructure investments are shared across all users, concentrating real costs on those without technic