Datacenters Slurping up so Much Juice They Boosted Prices 75% in Largest US Energy Market

Datacenters slurping up so much juice they boosted prices 75% in largest US energy market

Prices in the United States' largest wholesale power market have nearly doubled in the past year thanks to demand from datacenters. And an independent watchdog predicts things will only get worse without some serious changes. The PJM Interconnection serves all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia in the eastern US, including Northern Virginia, that’s got the densest cluster of datacenters in the world. The surge in wholesale power …

Data Centers Spike Power Costs By 76% On Major Grid

Gizmodo reports: America’s largest power grid is under enormous strain from AI data centers. And a new report details how wholesale electricity prices have jumped nearly 76% in an area where tens of millions of Americans live. PJM Interconnection operates a wholesale electric power market in the mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and South that covers 67 million people in 13 states (Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Nort…

Power Prices in Eastern U.S. Spike 76% Thanks to AI Data Centers

A new report calls the impact significant and "irreversible."

America's power grid can't keep up with AI demand

Grid engineers, utility executives, and regulators describe a system where permitting, supply chains, and queues can't match the speed of data center growth

Power prices are up 76% on America's biggest grid, and a watchdog is pointing fingers

Prices have nearly doubled in the largest U.S. grid thanks to surging demand from data centers.

AI Data Center Demand Drove 76 Percent Surge in Wholesale Power Prices Across East Cost Grid

Wholesale electricity prices across America’s largest power grid jumped 76 percent in the first quarter of 2026, driven by surging demand from AI data centers, according to Monitoring Analytics, the independent market monitor for PJM Interconnection. The cost of wholesale power across the 13-state PJM grid rose from $77.78 per megawatt-hour in Q1 2025 to $136.53 in the same period this year, a $58.75 increase in 12 months. PJM’s footprint covers…