If you live anywhere in Ohio served by AEP, AES, Duke, or FirstEnergy, your electric bill has gone up. Oftentimes, the reason for the increase comes down to one answer: data centers. That's convenient for the utilities and grid operators raising your rates, because it points the finger at someone else.
Yes, data centers use power. So does every new factory, warehouse, or hospital. PJM, the company that runs the regional power grid for 13 states, said in December 2025 that data centers will drive most of the new demand it expects through 2028.
That is accurate, but there's more to the story.
The reality is that coal plants are closing across the region. Natural gas and nuclear still carry most of the load on the PJM grid, around two-thirds of all the electricity that flows through it. As older plants come offline, the cheap baseline power they produced isn't being replaced fast enough.
At this point, it's basic economics — less supply, constant or more demand will result in a price increase.
Wind and solar were supposed to take up that slack. They haven't and won't anytime soon. Last spring, PJM ran what it called the Reliability Resource Initiative, a one-time fast-track for new power projects. PJM scored each application on a points system and picked 51 out of the pile, based mostly on how soon the project could be built and how much reliable capacity it would add.
According to PJM's own May 2, 2025, announcement, most of those 51 were upgrades to existing natural gas, nuclear, coal, and wind plants. Of the 12 brand-new projects, six were gas, five were batteries, and one was nuclear.
Zero new wind. Zero new solar.
To be fair, AEP and PJM aren't wrong about everything. AEP says the poles, wires, and substations in its service area are old and that efficiency improvements alone won't cover the coming load growth. PJM says it needs power it can switch on fast when demand spikes, and that wind and solar can't always do that yet.
Both points are fair. Neither one explains the significant rate increases. So, that takes us to the rate cases.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved two AEP increases on the same day in April 2026. The Ohio Consumers' Counsel said one of them was disguised as a rate cut. Duke, AES, and FirstEnergy customers are seeing their own hikes. The Ohio Capital Journal reported in April 2026 that utilities nationwide plan $1.4 trillion in new grid spending, and Ohio customers will end up paying for a share of it.
So when someone tells you your bill is up because of data centers, ask them what else is going on. There's a lot more to it, and we're just getting started.
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