AI expansion drives electricity prices on the largest U.S. power grid up 76%

This has intensified the pressure on grid operators to alleviate the burden on consumers. According to a report by the independent grid market regulator Monitoring Analytics, the wholesale electricity cost for the grid managed by PJM Interconnection LLC, which covers 13 states, averaged $136.53 per megawatt-hour in the first three months of this year. In comparison, the same period in 2025 was just $77.78 per megawatt-hour. This once again highlights how the booming demand for artificial intelligence data centers is causing electricity prices to spiral upward. These data centers require massive amounts of energy, placing a heavy burden on America’s aging power grid.