Data centers have become a frequent target in debates over power use, with many consumers worried that hyperscale facilities will push household electricity bills higher. That concern has grown as AI infrastructure expands and utilities face pressure to add more generation and grid capacity.
But new research points in a different direction for the past decade. From 2015 to 2024, average retail electricity prices decreased by 3.5% for every doubling of data center capacity, according to the findings highlighted in the report. In other words, the growth of data centers coincided with lower average power prices rather than the spike many people expected.
That result challenges the popular assumption that more server farms automatically mean more expensive electricity for everyone else. It suggests the relationship between data center investment and power prices has been more complicated, even as public polling has shown broad unease about the effect of these projects on utility bills.
The picture may not stay the same, however. If AI demand weakens, the economics behind new data center buildouts could shift, which may change how utilities, developers, and customers share future costs. For now, the research suggests data center expansion has not translated into higher average retail electricity prices in the way many critics feared.
