Data centers drive 63% of PJM's power-price surge as backlash hardens
Wholesale power on the largest US grid nearly doubled year-over-year; states impose large-load tariffs while a foreign-influence subplot complicates the politics
Summary
Wholesale power on Pjm averaged $136.53/MWh in Q1 2026, up from $77.78 a year earlier; market monitor Monitoring Analytics attributed 63% of the rise to data-center load — roughly $9.3bn in added ratepayer costs. Capacity prices climbed from $28.92/MW-day (2024/25) toward $329/MW-day (2026/27). As of May 2026, 23 states had approved large-load tariffs; Pennsylvania adopted a model tariff for customers above 50MW. Microsoft and Anthropic pledged to cover their own price impacts. A parallel NPR investigation reported Chinese state outlets amplifying US data-center opposition while Beijing subsidises its own facilities' energy costs.
Why it matters
AI compute is now an industrial-scale Electricity buyer reshaping bills for 67 million people and forcing a state-by-state fight over who pays for the grid — the real, physical cost of the AI buildout.