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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesData centers do not have one national electricity price, and there is no universal answer to whether they raise other customers’ bills. The comparison depends on the facility’s location, peak demand, load profile, service arrangement and local grid capacity. National averages show that industrial customers paid less per kilowatt-hour on average than commercial customers in 2025, but those figures do not identify data centers separately or show what any particular facility paid.
How do data centers compare with other large power users?
The most useful comparison separates two questions: what the customer pays for electricity, and what it takes for the power system to serve that customer. A large annual energy total does not, by itself, reveal the customer’s bill or the grid impact. Two facilities with similar yearly consumption can have different effects if one draws more power during peak hours, is located where the grid is constrained, or needs major interconnection upgrades.
For data centers, factories, hydrogen production, electrified manufacturing and transportation loads, compare:
- Annual electricity use: How many megawatt-hours or terawatt-hours the facility consumes over a stated period.
- Peak demand and load shape: The maximum megawatt draw, how demand changes by hour, and whether the customer can shift or curtail use.
- Location and grid conditions: Available generation, transmission and distribution capacity, interconnection requirements, and the structure of the regional electricity market.
- Customer charges: Energy rates, demand or capacity charges, delivery charges, contract terms and any on-site supply.
- Investment and cost risk: Who pays for new infrastructure and what happens if a project uses less power than forecast.
- Reliability and generation: Whether sufficient resources are available during peak periods and which resources serve the added demand.
The available national sources do not provide matched facility-level bills and attributable grid costs for data centers versus specific industries such as steel, aluminum, refining or hydrogen production. A fair sector-to-sector comparison would need to match facilities by location, voltage, load profile, tariff, contract and accounting boundary.
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Do data centers pay more for electricity than factories?
There is no data-center-specific national average in the figures below. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports preliminary 2025 average retail prices by customer class, using February 2026 Electric Power Monthly data. Its industrial category is not a proxy for data centers, which are not separately identified in this comparison.
| Customer class | 2025 average retail price | What the figure establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 17.30¢/kWh | Preliminary EIA national customer-class average |
| Commercial | 13.41¢/kWh | Preliminary EIA national customer-class average; data centers are not shown as a separate class |
| Industrial | 8.62¢/kWh | Preliminary EIA national customer-class average; it does not establish a particular factory’s rate |
| Transportation | 13.83¢/kWh | Preliminary EIA national customer-class average |
These averages are useful context, not a bill comparison between a data center and a factory. EIA explains that industrial customers typically consume more electricity and may receive service at higher voltages, which can make supply more efficient and less expensive. Industrial retail prices are generally closer to wholesale prices. Prices also vary by locality and by the mix and cost of available generation. A specific data center’s tariff, demand charges, contract and service voltage could differ substantially from the commercial average.
How much electricity do data centers use, and how is that changing?
National estimates show a large and growing electricity demand, but forecasts differ by publication year and scenario. They should be read as separate estimates rather than stitched together into one continuous forecast.
| Estimate | Electricity use or share | Attribution and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 estimate | 176 TWh, about 4.4% of U.S. electricity | DOE’s 2024 summary of the 2024 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) report |
| 2028 projection | 325–580 TWh, approximately 6.7%–12% of projected U.S. electricity | DOE’s 2024 summary of the 2024 LBNL report; a broad projection range |
| 2030 reference case | 11.8% of U.S. electricity | LBNL’s 2025 update |
| 2030 scenario range | 9.5%–15.3% of U.S. electricity | LBNL’s 2025 update; scenario range, not a single-point forecast |
The estimate for 2023 is historical, while the 2028 and 2030 figures are projections made in different report vintages. The range around a projection matters: future use depends on how much computing capacity is built and how intensively it operates, among other assumptions. These national estimates describe energy use, not the price paid by an individual data center or the cost of serving its peak demand in a particular place.
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Are data centers raising electricity prices?
Additional demand can affect electricity markets, but the size and direction of a price effect depend on regional conditions and the assumptions used in the analysis. EIA reported that U.S. electricity demand grew about 1.7% annually during 2020–2025, compared with 0.1% annually during 2005–2019. EIA attributed recent growth to data centers and also noted expanded industrial electrification.
In February 2026 scenario analysis, EIA modeled faster load growth while holding future generating capacity to the outlook in its February Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). The results differed sharply by region:
| Region and year | Modeled wholesale-price effect | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| ERCOT, 2027 | $37/MWh, or 79%, above EIA’s February 2026 STEO forecast | EIA high-demand scenario result; conditional model output, not an observed retail-price increase |
| PJM, 2027 | $2.60/MWh, or 4%, above EIA’s February 2026 STEO forecast | The same EIA high-demand scenario; PJM’s modeled response was more limited |
EIA said the modeled price response was most pronounced in ERCOT and more limited in PJM, in part because PJM is interconnected with other eastern regions and has access to more generation. These results are regional, scenario-based wholesale-price estimates. They do not prove that data centers caused a particular household’s or business’s bill to rise, and they should not be presented as a forecast of retail rates for every customer.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who pays for grid upgrades and other system costs?
Serving a new large load can require more than buying energy. Depending on the project and local system, costs or investments can involve generation, transmission, distribution, interconnection facilities and resources needed to maintain adequate supply. The customer’s tariff, contract and regulatory rules determine how those costs are assigned and what financial risks remain with other customers.
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The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2025 rate-design brief identifies issues that regulators and utilities may need to address for large-load tariffs:
- Fair allocation of system costs among the new customer and existing ratepayers.
- Stranded-investment risk if infrastructure is built for a project that later uses less power than expected or does not proceed as planned.
- Resource adequacy, including whether enough generation and other resources will be available as demand grows.
- Technology risk-sharing and the terms governing new or changing power needs.
- Whether flexibility or carbon-free supply options can be incorporated into service arrangements.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s 2026 review describes state and federal policy activity concerning large-load interconnection, rate structures, deployment and potential cost shifts. That review summarizes policy trends and selected rate cases; it does not establish one nationwide outcome for all large customers.
On June 18, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced orders directing all six RTOs/ISOs under its jurisdiction to justify or reform rules for data centers, manufacturing facilities and other large energy users. The announced issues include transmission-study processes, transparency to prevent cost shifting, co-location and behind-the-meter generation, flexible-load transmission service, and study of generation serving nearby or co-located loads. The announcement describes an active regulatory process, not a settled nationwide tariff or a single cost-allocation rule.
What should a household or business take from the comparison?
National averages and model scenarios can explain why large loads receive attention, but they cannot identify who pays for a particular project or establish its effect on a particular customer’s bill. For a local claim, look for the actual utility or market proceeding and the terms that apply to the project. The most informative details are:
- The proposed facility’s location, expected peak demand and hourly load profile.
- Whether the local utility or grid operator has identified generation, transmission, distribution or interconnection upgrades.
- Which costs the customer is contractually required to fund and which may be recovered through rates.
- Whether the customer has a minimum-use commitment, exit obligation or other protection against costs being left with other customers if usage falls short.
- How the relevant regulator or market operator treats the project’s effect on reliability and resource adequacy.
Without those details, it is not sound to claim that data centers invariably pay more or less than factories, or that they universally raise or lower everyone else’s electricity bills. The evidence supports a more specific conclusion: large loads can create substantial energy and infrastructure needs, while the customer price and the distribution of system costs depend on where and how each load is served.
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