Fact check: How much have data centers increased electricity prices?
A fact-check determined that Sen. Elizabeth Warren's claim that data centers increased residential electricity bills by 267% was mostly false, as that figure referred to wholesale prices. However, the article confirms that data centers are a significant driver of rising electricity costs in many areas, with average U.S. residential prices up 42% in the last five years and notable increases in specific regions like Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Maine.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's claim that data centers have caused residential electricity bills to increase by as much as 267% over the last five years was fact-checked and found to be "Mostly False."
The PolitiFace ruling clarified that the 267% figure cited by Sen. Warren, which she also used in a December 2025 letter to tech firms announcing an investigation, referred to wholesale electricity prices that utility companies pay producers, not the rates residential consumers pay monthly.
While Sen. Warren's specific figure was misleading, the article acknowledges that data centers are indeed a significant driver of rising electricity costs in many areas. Average residential electricity costs across the U.S. have risen by 42% in the last five years, with more pronounced increases in certain regions; for instance, residential retail prices in Washington, D.C., rose 94% between March 2021 and March 2026, while Maryland saw a 74% increase and Maine a 73% increase.
Kenneth Gillingham, an economist at Yale School of the Environment, explained that wholesale nodal electricity prices only affect the "supply" component, which constitutes 30% to 50% of a consumer's bill, and utilities typically need state regulatory approval for rate increases. The PJM Interconnection, a grid operator for parts of 13 states and D.C., reported that data center load growth is the primary reason for record-high capacity prices, adding $9.3 billion in costs for the 2025-26 delivery year. Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School, noted that consumers could be subsidizing data centers through these market price increases and infrastructure spending. Other contributing factors to rising electricity prices include equipment costs, an aging energy grid, and clean energy requirements.