Voter Anger Over Rising Electricity Bills Set to Shape 2025 Midterm Elections
Voter frustration over the skyrocketing cost of living is expected to surge into next year’s midterm elections. Pivotal contests are likely to be decided in communities grappling with fast-rising electric bills or clashing over who should shoulder the power costs from Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers.
Electricity costs were a key issue in this week’s gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia—a recognized data center hotspot—and in Georgia, where Democrats unseated two Republican incumbents for seats on the state’s utility regulatory commission. Voters across New Jersey, Virginia, California, and New York City consistently cited economic concerns as their top issue, signaling an intensifying debate over affordability as both parties prepare for a heated midterm battle to control Congress.
Already, President Donald Trump is signaling that affordability will be a major focus as Republicans aim to maintain their slim congressional majority. Meanwhile, Democrats are placing the blame for rising household costs squarely on Trump. Electricity bills are expected to be front and center, with rates in many areas increasing faster than the rate of U.S. inflation—even if not universally.
“There’s a lot of pressure on politicians to talk about affordability, and electricity prices are right now the most clear example of problems of affordability,” said Dan Cassino, professor of politics and government at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.
Rising Electric Costs Show No Signs of Easing
Rising electric costs are not expected to ease anytime soon, and many Americans could see increases on their monthly bills right in the thick of next year’s campaigns. According to consumer advocacy organization PowerLines, gas and electric utilities are seeking or have already secured rate increases totaling more than $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025—more than double the amount for the same period last year.
With approximately 80 million Americans struggling to pay their utility bills, “it’s a life or death and ‘eat or heat’ type decision that people have to make,” said Charles Hua, PowerLines’ founder.
In Georgia, proposals for new data centers have become a flashpoint. Newly elected Democrat Peter Hubbard accused the Republican-controlled utility commission of “rubber-stamping” rate increases by Georgia Power, a subsidiary of energy giant Southern Co. Monthly bills for Georgia Power customers have risen six times in the past two years, now averaging $175 per month for a typical residential customer.
Hubbard’s message hit home with voters like Rebecca Mekonnen from Stone Mountain, a suburb of Atlanta. “More affordable pricing—that’s the main thing. It’s running my pocket right now,” she said. Looking ahead, Georgia Power has proposed spending $15 billion to expand its power generation, mainly to meet data center demand. Hubbard and others are questioning whether data centers will pay their fair share, or if regular ratepayers will be left footing the bill.
Battleground States and Data Center Hotspots
The 2025 midterms will see battlegrounds in states where skyrocketing electric bills or data center booms—or both—are inciting community uprisings. Notable states include California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Analysts point to multiple forces driving bills higher: costly modernization of the grid, upgrades to withstand extreme weather and wildfires, explosive demand from data centers and bitcoin miners, efforts to revive domestic manufacturing, and rising natural gas prices.
“The cost of utility service is the new ‘cost of eggs’ concern for a lot of consumers,” said Jennifer Bosco of the National Consumer Law Center.
Data centers, in particular, are fueling a dramatic increase in electricity demand. The International Energy Agency reports that a typical AI data center can use as much power as 100,000 homes, sometimes more than an entire city like Pittsburgh or Cleveland. While many states have welcomed data centers for the perceived economic benefits, legislatures and utility commissions are increasingly trying to shield regular customers from the costs of connecting these facilities to the grid. Meanwhile, communities wary of the environmental and local impacts are pushing back.
Electric Bills Are Top of Mind
A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that electricity bills are a “major” source of stress for 36% of U.S. adults. As fall turns to winter, some states are warning that low-income heating assistance may be delayed due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Even so, the burden of electric bills is more uneven than grocery costs—just over half of U.S. adults say the supermarket is their main source of financial stress. Electric rates also vary widely between states and utilities. Federal data shows that for-profit utilities are raising rates far faster than municipally owned utilities or cooperatives.
In the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid, stretching from Illinois to New Jersey, analysts say ratepayers are already financing the expected power needs of new data centers—many of which have not even broken ground. Next June, electric bills across the region will soar again, absorbing billions more dollars in higher wholesale power costs designed to attract new power plants for those data centers. This prospect has prompted Democratic governors like Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, Illinois’ JB Pritzker, and Maryland’s Wes Moore—all up for reelection—to pressure grid operator PJM Interconnection to limit further increases.
Red States vs. Blue States
Drew Maloney, CEO of the Edison Electric Institute, the trade group for for-profit electric utilities, argues that blue states are driving up electric bills. “The red states’ electricity rates are not going up at the rate the blue states are,” Maloney said. “But the data centers are largely going to the red states and the rates are still stable.”
Pulling out some of the fastest-rising rates—such as in California, where wildfire-driven grid upgrades are a factor, and in New England, where natural gas is costly—the majority of the country is seeing electric bill increases that largely match inflation, according to Maloney.
Still, blue states remain attractive to data centers, and some red states are also seeing swift hikes. In Indiana, a burgeoning data center hub, the Citizens Action Coalition reported this year that residential customers of for-profit utilities faced the sharpest rate increases in more than 20 years. Republican Governor Mike Braun echoed the growing frustration, saying, “we can’t take it anymore.”
As energy costs and data center developments continue to shape public opinion, electricity prices are set to be a defining issue in the 2025 midterm elections.
*Associated Press reporter Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.*
https://ktar.com/national-news/voters-anger-over-high-electricity-bills-and-data-centers-loom-over-2026-midterms/5772563/