The Rise of AI Seen on Your Utility Bills

Safora Noor
3 hours ago
4 min read

Written by: Ibhade Asikagbon

Data centers, the new gilded factories of the 21st century! With the rise of AI, states are increasingly endorsing the construction of data centers. These facilities house the computing and storage infrastructure necessary to handle the intensive energy processing required by AI. Many states are lured by the large investments that may develop local economies, offering incentives to attract companies.

The Downsides:

Good Jobs First, a nonprofit, found that at least 10 of the 32 states with data centers lost over $100 million per year in tax revenue. Nationally, the majority of data centers are found in Northern Virginia because of state tax incentives, cheap energy, and a strategic location near Washington, D.C. Now, these data centers have their eyes on Maryland.

Last year, Maryland Governor Wes Moore launched a partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation and AI companies like Anthropic and Percepta to integrate AI into the government. In doing so, he plans to use AI to “modernize” the government and tackle various issues such as access to housing.

Although the project may seem to mean well, the residents, whose homes the data centers will be built near, have not taken it well, and rightfully so.

In September 2025, residents of Prince George’s County banded together to stop the construction of a data center on the abandoned Landover Mall site, due to concerns about pollution, water consumption, and energy use that would largely affect the black and brown communities. Due to community efforts, the approval of future data centers at the Landover Mall site has been temporarily paused in Prince George’s County.

One large AI facility alone could draw 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 40,000 to 90,000 homes annually. However, the one at the Landover Mall site would’ve used 820 megawatts, enough to power 656,000 homes. With all that strain from power grids, rolling blackouts would become commonplace, causing people to go without the electricity to power their homes, businesses, and appliances.

Over 200 people in Texas died in winter due to state-ordered rolling blackouts. Imagine what that number would be in Maryland’s freezing winter now if more energy-consuming data centers were built for something like AI? Daily life could be negatively affected as well. Due to the energy-intensive processes, the water-cooling systems required by AI will drain 731 to 1,125 million cubic meters of water per year, equivalent to the annual household water usage of 6-10 million Americans. These AI facilities draw their water from the same local watersheds we drink from, take up space, and lower water pressure in our homes.

(Beverly Morris, who lives right next to an AI data center, has to flush her toilet with a bucket due to extremely low water pressure.)

Higher electric bills:

When utility companies pay a higher capacity price to allow these facilities to operate, they pass the costs on to the users. That means instead of the data center or the utility company, you, the citizen, would have a higher electric bill, which would allow data centers to use hundreds of megawatts of electricity.

In addition to that, utility companies have cut deals with big tech to incentivize development and then charge users around a 10% profit for it, all at the detriment of residents. According to Baltimore resident Nike Carstarphen, who claims she’s cut her power usage by 40% in 2025, BGE has increased her electricity rate 20% from August to September. This rise is often seen in the delivery charges of the bill.

Another reason why Maryland’s bills have increased is that Maryland is connected to the same grid that Northern Virginia (the state with the most data centers) is connected to (PJM Interconnection). An increase in energy usage in Northern Virginia from the data centers directly impacts the grid that Marylanders also rely on, raising the electricity bills of Maryland residents.

What's next with data centers:

So, with all this talk about the negative impacts of data center growth, how exactly is Maryland planning to regulate the strain on our power grids by these facilities? Last year, Maryland passed a bill that would require state agencies and the University of Maryland Business School to assess the environmental, energy, and economic effects of data centers before they’re built. However, Governor Wes Moore tried to veto it, citing it as “blocking progress”. In late 2025, MGA met up again for an emergency session and overrode Moore’s veto, noting the importance of assessing the full effects of data centers on the state.

More recently, in Baltimore County, council members passed a bill to temporarily freeze data center development. This will expire "90 days after the council receives the study and cannot extend past Jan. 1, 2027”. Governor Wes Moore is also urging PJM Interconnection to temporarily shift the cost of new energy infrastructure to data centers instead of Baltimore County residents.

As the state is figuring out how implement data centers or if they are a good idea at all, it is evident that there are many environmental downsides that need to be addressed. In the meantime, you can follow local and state news to stay updated about the progress of data centers in your region.

Sources:

The Rise of AI Seen on Your Utility Bills

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