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One monthly bill Americans can’t avoid is quietly surging thanks to emerging industry: data

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Macias, A. (2026, August 20). One monthly bill Americans can’t avoid is quietly surging thanks to emerging industry: data. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/monthly-bill-americans-cant-avoid-quietly-surging-emerging-industry-data

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Fox News · collected 2026-08-20 · by Amanda Macias

Quick Summary

Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas suggests that the rapid growth of AI data centers is contributing to higher electricity prices nationwide. According to estimates, existing data centers have already increased average wholesale electricity prices by 2-6% across the country, and could potentially raise costs by 20-30% by 2028. The impact on household electric bills will be complex, as it depends on various factors including transmission and distribution costs, which make up roughly half of a typical retail electricity price. As data centers continue to grow, states are starting to take action, with some governors imposing moratoriums or tightening oversight on large-scale data center development.
Written by AI on 2026-08-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The cost of electricity for American households may increase due to the rapid growth of AI data centers. According to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, these data centers have already caused a 2% to 6% surge in average wholesale electricity prices nationwide, with even larger increases in areas where they are concentrated. As the number of data centers continues to grow, researchers predict that the cost of generating electricity could increase by 20% to 30% by 2028, although this would not necessarily mean a household's electric bill will jump by the same amount. A single large data center can use as much electricity as a small town, making them a significant energy consumer. This trend is expected to have major implications for American households and may become an important issue in upcoming elections.

Written for “Data Storage Costs Rising” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Data Storage Costs Rising
Economy/Business · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 35% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Guardian
Hedges 19 of 117 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A reports on the potential backlash of AI datacenters on an Ohio Senate seat, while Article B discusses the impact of AI data centers on electricity prices nationwide”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 3 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses the impact of AI data centers on electricity prices, while Article B focuses on the surge in gas-fired power generation to feed the AI boom”
Fox News
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 42 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Although both articles mention data centers and AI, they present different aspects of the issue, with Article A discussing Silicon Valley's inability to adapt and Article B focusing on the impact of data centers on electricity prices”
Fox News
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 3 of 46 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A reports on a general trend or issue related to data centers and AI, while Article B discusses a policy response to this issue and mentions data centers as a 'top issue'”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 3 of 22 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A discusses a general trend and estimated impact of AI data centers on electricity prices, while Article B reports on a specific proposed project in regional Queensland”
The Free Press
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 96/100
“Article A discusses the economic impact of AI data centers on electricity prices, while Article B mentions Stripe's declaration of AI achieving 'singularity', but does not mention electric bills or data centers”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 2 of 54 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses the impact of AI data centers on electric bills, while Article B mentions AI data centers in passing as a concern, but focuses on other aspects of AI”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
35%
7 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6059 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Amanda Macias
36 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Amanda Macias
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 36 articles by Amanda Macias →

Topics

Americans Democratic Fed the Dallas Fed the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Subjects

Americans NORP · 2× Democratic NORP · 2× America GPE · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Fed ORG · 1× Greg Abbott PERSON · 1× Republican NORP · 1× Texas GPE · 1× the Dallas Fed ORG · 1× the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas ORG · 1×

Narrative

And researchers estimate existing data centers that have popped up all over the country in recent years have already pushed average wholesale electricity prices 2% to 6% higher nationwide, with even larger surges in areas where these facilities are concentrated.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-20
🔮 Americans could soon feel the artificial intelligence boom in an unavoidable place — their monthly electric bills.

Claims (20 extracted, 7 hedged)

Americans could soon feel the artificial intelligence boom in an unavoidable place — their monthly electric bills. uncertain
Americans → feel → place
Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas finds that the rapid growth of AI data centers could make electricity more expensive for households in the coming years. uncertain
electricity → find → years
And researchers estimate existing data centers that have popped up all over the country in recent years have already pushed average wholesale electricity prices 2% to 6% higher nationwide, with even larger surges in areas where these facilities are concentrated. asserted
facilities → estimate → areas
The issue is sure to take even more prominence as affordability, emerging technology and the future of energy-sucking data centers becomes central to many Americans' sentiments at the ballot box. asserted
affordability → take → box
The pressure in monthly bills could grow in conjunction with the AI boom. uncertain
pressure → grow → boom
The preferred middle-range scenario for researchers shows the cost increases of generating electricity could be 20% to 30% higher by 2028 compared to what it would be without new data centers. uncertain
it → prefer → centers
That does not mean a family's electric bill will jump 20% to 30% — that figure is much more nuanced. asserted
figure → mean → ?
Depending on its size, a single large data center can use as much electricity as a small city, according to estimates compiled by Fed researchers. uncertain
center → depend → researchers
Wholesale electricity is only one part of what consumers pay for, alongside costs such as transmission and distribution. asserted
consumers → pay → transmission
The researchers at the Dallas Fed estimate energy costs make up roughly half of a typical retail electricity price, and wholesale increases generally take time to work their way into household rates. asserted
increases → estimate → rates
In short – the future of electricity bills is unclear, but is likely to steadily rise over the next two years. uncertain
future → rise → years
Data centers need enormous amounts of electricity to run the computers behind AI. asserted
centers → need → AI
As more data centers connect to the grid, utilities may need additional power plants, transmission lines, substations and other infrastructure to serve them. uncertain
utilities → connect → them
Who ultimately pays for those upgrades depends in part on how regulators and utilities divide the costs between data centers and other customers. asserted
regulators → pay → centers
The growing strain has is at the center of many political debates. asserted
strain → grow → debates
President Donald Trump has pushed to expand America's AI infrastructure while backing a voluntary pledge aimed at preventing data centers from driving up household utility bills. asserted
Trump → push → bills
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has ordered regulators to halt data center projects seeking to connect to the state's main power grid until they undergo a comprehensive audit. asserted
they → order → audit
In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has also moved to tighten oversight of large-scale data center development as the state weighs how to balance new investment with rising electricity demand. asserted
state → move → demand
Other governors have gone further, including Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who imposed a one-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers. asserted
who → go → centers
States continue to grapple with concerns over electricity costs, grid reliability and the rapid pace of development. asserted
States → continue → development
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