Rising Power Bills and Data Centers Put Utilities on the Ballot in US Midterms

Electricity prices have become a central issue in the midterm elections on November 3, as Americans complain about rising utility bills and deals for power-hungry data centers, according to Reuters. Nationwide, electricity prices for homes have risen more than 10% since 2024, when President Donald Trump was elected along with Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, according to data from the Energy Information Administration cited by Reuters. The increase has outpaced the rise in costs for other goods and services.

In the states most likely to decide control of Congress, the squeeze is larger. Households in Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Ohio are paying $50 to $60 more a month for power and gasoline than a year ago, according to Reuters. The average American household spent about $456 a month on electricity and gasoline combined in the first seven months of 2026, roughly $54 more than a year earlier, an increase of around 14%, according to Energy Information Administration data cited by Reuters.

Power bills have grown even faster in the battleground states of Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, which are also hot spots for new data centers, Reuters reported. In some cases, electricity bills have risen by triple the inflation rate. The typical Pennsylvania household paid about $182 a month for electricity this year, up 12% from last year and up 58% since 2019, according to the Energy Information Administration. Ohio bills rose 9.4% from a year ago and 53% since 2019. Both states sit inside PJM, the largest power grid operator in the country, whose capacity auctions have set three consecutive pricing records this year.

Candidates promise freezes, moratoriums and lower returns

Many politicians running for top statehouse seats have backed action against utilities, Reuters reported. Some have proposed freezing utility rate increases and cutting the guaranteed returns utilities earn on grid investments. Charles Hua, executive director of PowerLines, a nonprofit that advocates reforming utility policy to favor consumers, told Reuters: “It could be the first election to feature utilities and electricity, specifically, as a prominent issue in the midterms.”

In Ohio, Democrat Amy Acton has promised to lower energy bills if she is elected governor, Reuters reported. Her campaign said she will appoint a public utilities commission that was “not beholden to utility companies” and work with the state attorney general to crack down on what it called excessive rate hikes and predatory practices. Ohio residential electricity bills have grown by more than 20% over the last two years, according to Energy Information Administration data. Acton has also said she supports a data center moratorium. Her Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, said he would assure Ohioans living near data centers would not pay electricity bills at all.

In Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat running for reelection, announced in April that the utility PECO Energy Company had agreed to his demand that it withdraw its proposal to increase rates, Reuters reported. Shapiro said the move would reduce future utility bills by as much as $34 a month. Power bills were also an issue in last year’s elections: Mikie Sherrill ran for New Jersey governor on a promise of freezing utility bills and did so the same day she took office, Reuters reported.

Utilities warn against rate freezes

Utility advocates say reducing guaranteed returns and freezing rates will not make a large difference in household bills but could lead to less investment in the grid over time, Reuters reported. Drew Maloney, president of Edison Electric Institute, a trade organization for investor-owned electric utilities, told Reuters: “The grid is America’s greatest machine, and it doesn’t operate on the political calendar. It requires consistent investment every year to deliver reliable energy to our customers.”

Utilities are on track to match last year’s record high $31 billion in rate increase requests to regulators, according to a PowerLines survey cited by Reuters. Last year’s spending was double the previous record. Investor-owned companies are also expected to carry out a record of nearly $1.3 trillion in capital spending over the next five years, according to an analysis by S&P Global’s Regulatory Research Associates. Credit rating agency Fitch downgraded the North American utility sector to “deteriorating” from “neutral” in June, citing political pressure in the midterms to limit electricity bills and utility profits.

Seats on nine state public utility commissions are up for election this year, including in Arizona and Georgia, both data center hubs, Reuters reported. Governors will be chosen in 36 states, and governors appoint utility regulators in states where commissioners are not directly elected. “I do think the real meat will come after the election,” Hua told Reuters.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters.