AI Buildout Drives 76% Power Bill Jump on Largest US Grid
(Bloomberg) -- Power prices on the largest electric grid in the US jumped 76% in the first quarter due to rampant demand from data centers, adding to pressure on its operator to alleviate the strain on consumers.
The total cost of wholesale power on the 13-state grid managed by PJM Interconnection LLC averaged $136.53 per megawatt-hour in the first three months of the year, according to a report from Monitoring Analytics, the grid’s independent market monitor. That compares to $77.78 per megawatt-hour during the same period in 2025.
It once again underscores how power bills are spiraling higher as a result of booming demand from artificial intelligence data centers, which require vast amounts of energy and are putting a significant burden on America’s aging power grids.
The report said data center load included in the last two PJM capacity auctions increased customers’ bills by $13.8 billion. “The price impacts will be even larger in the near term unless the issues associated with data center load are addressed in a timely manner.”
PJM said in a statement that the rising prices were an accurate indication of supply and demand conditions in the wholesale market and that prices were functioning correctly. The grid operator said it was taking further measures to support consumers, including by extending capacity market price caps.
PJM serves 67 million people across eastern states from New Jersey to Illinois, where a large concentration of data centers in the US are located. The company has found itself at the center of a storm of criticism from politicians, consumers and utilities for rising prices.
ComEd, a unit of Exelon Corp and the largest energy utility in Illinois, on Thursday blamed surging supply costs on the PJM grid for rising customer bills.
The figures from Monitoring Analytics showed capacity costs, which ensure the grid has enough supply during periods of highest demand, jumping by almost 400% in the first three months of 2026 compared to last year. The cost of congestion on the system surged 300% to $2.02 billion.
“As the demand for power continues to increase, generation companies and grid operators must step up to increase capacity that will be needed to maintain grid reliability and keep energy supply costs affordable for customers across the PJM zone,” said Gil Quiniones, chief executive officer of ComEd.
The company said the average residential customer bill would increase between $2 to $3 per month, as a result of a PJM capacity auction held last year.
Earlier this week, Laura Swett, who oversees the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said PJM wasn’t responding sufficiently to the problems the grid is facing, arguing it had potentially “grown too big to function.” She announced a conference on July 23 in Washington to discuss possible reforms.
Average demand in the first three months of 2026 increased by 3.1% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, according to the data from Monitoring Analytics. Generation from natural gas units, the primary energy source in PJM, increased 4.2%, while generation from solar units increased 15%.
(Updates with PJM comment in the fifth paragraph.)
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