Voter Anger Over Electricity Costs Set to Shape Next Year’s Midterm Elections
Voter anger over the cost of living is hurtling forward into next year’s midterm elections, as pivotal contests will be decided by communities grappling with fast-rising electric bills and debates over who should pay to power Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers.
Electricity costs emerged as a key issue in this week’s elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia—a data center hotspot—and in Georgia, where Democrats ousted two Republican incumbents from seats on the state’s utility regulatory commission. Voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City all cited economic concerns as their top issue, as Democrats and Republicans prepare for an intensifying debate over affordability in the battle to control Congress.
President Donald Trump is already signaling that he’ll focus on affordability next year as he and Republicans try to maintain their slim congressional majorities, while Democrats are blaming Trump for rising household costs. Electricity bills are front and center, with rates in many places increasing faster than the U.S. average inflation rate, though not everywhere.
“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, a professor of politics and government and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.
Rising Electric Costs Aren’t Expected to Ease
Many Americans could see an increase in their monthly bills in the middle of next year’s campaigns. Gas and electric utilities are seeking, or have already secured, rate increases totaling more than $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, according to consumer advocacy organization PowerLines. That figure is more than double the same period last year.
With some 80 million Americans struggling to pay their utility bills, “it’s a life or death, ‘eat or heat’ type decision that people have to make,” said Charles Hua, PowerLines’ founder.
In Georgia, proposals to build data centers have roiled communities, while victorious Democrat Peter Hubbard accused Republicans on the commission of “rubber-stamping” rate increases by Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co. Monthly Georgia Power bills have risen six times over the past two years, now averaging $175 a month for a typical residential customer. Hubbard’s message seemed to resonate with voters.
Rebecca Mekonnen, who lives in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain, said she voted for the Democratic challengers. “I want to see more affordable pricing. That’s the main thing. It’s running my pocket right now.”
Georgia Power is now proposing to spend $15 billion to expand its generating capacity, primarily to meet demand from data centers. Hubbard is questioning whether data centers will pay their fair share or if regular ratepayers will foot the bill.
Midterm Battlegrounds in Electricity Hotspots
The 2025 midterm elections will see congressional battlegrounds in states where fast-rising electric bills and data center developments are fomenting community uprisings. This includes California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Analysts attribute rising electric bills to a combination of factors:
– Expensive projects to modernize the grid and harden infrastructure against extreme weather and wildfires.
– Explosive demand from data centers, bitcoin miners, and a drive to revive domestic manufacturing.
– 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.
In some places, data centers are driving big increases in demand. According to the International Energy Agency, a typical AI data center uses as much electricity as 100,000 homes, and some may require more electricity than cities the size of Pittsburgh, Cleveland or New Orleans.
While many states have sought to attract data centers for economic growth, legislatures and utility commissions have also been flooded with proposals to protect regular ratepayers from paying the costs to connect data centers to the grid. Meanwhile, communities that don’t want one nearby are pushing back.
Electric Bills on Voters’ Minds
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 funding for low-income heating aid is being delayed because of the federal government shutdown.
Still, the impact is more uneven than other financial stressors like grocery costs, with just over half of U.S. adults saying groceries are a “major” source of stress. Electric rates also vary widely by state or utility. Federal data shows for-profit utilities have been raising rates far faster than municipally owned utilities or cooperatives.
In the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid from Illinois to New Jersey, analysts say ratepayers are covering billions of dollars for power costs tied to data centers—including ones not yet built. Next June, electric bills across that region are expected to absorb billions more dollars in higher wholesale electricity costs, designed to lure new power plants for data centers. That’s spurred governors from the region—including Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, Illinois’ JB Pritzker and Maryland’s Wes Moore, all Democrats running for reelection—to pressure grid operator PJM Interconnection to contain increases.
Red States vs. Blue States
Drew Maloney, CEO of the Edison Electric Institute, a trade association of for-profit electric utilities, singled out Democratic-leaning states as the drivers of higher 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.”
He noted that fast-rising rates in states like California—where wildfires are driving grid upgrades—and New England—where natural gas is expensive—skew the national picture, with most of the country seeing rates that largely follow inflation.
Still, blue states are attracting data centers, too, and some red states are seeing higher electric bills. In Indiana, a growing data center hotspot, the consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition reported this year that residential customers of the state’s for-profit electric utilities were absorbing the most severe rate increases in at least two decades. Republican Gov. Mike Braun decried the hikes, saying, “we can’t take it anymore.”
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*Associated Press reporter Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.*
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2025/11/08/voters-anger-over-high-electricity-bills-and-data-centers-loom-over-2026-midterms/
