What Are AI Data Centers Doing To Your Electric Bill?

Electricity bills are on track to rise an average of 8 percent nationwide by 2030 according to a June analysis from Carnegie Mellon University and North Carolina State University. The culprits? Data centers and cryptocurrency mining. Bills could rise as much as 25 percent in places like Virginia. Science writer Dan Charles explains why electric utilities are adding the cost of data center buildings to their customers’ bills while the data companies pay nothing upfront.  Read the full June analysis here. To listen to more on the environmental impact of data centers, check out our two-part reported series: - Why the true water footprint of AI is so elusive - How tech companies could shrink AI's climate footprint Interested in how technology affects everyday life? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy