Power bills keep rising and data centers keep growing. Eleven states have introduced moratorium bills to slow the expansion
An aerial view of a 33 megawatt data center in Vernon, Calif. A surge in demand for AI infrastructure is fueling a boom in data centers across the country. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Electricity bills near major data center hubs cost as much as 267% more than they did five years ago. Data centers now consume 4% to 5% of all U.S. electricity, and in Virginia, where about 14% of the world's data centers operate, the share already exceeds 25%. Residents have noticed, and legislators have followed. At least 11 states have active moratorium bills, and more than 150 pieces of energy-related legislation have been considered across statehouses in 2026 alone.
That figure is only growing. The Electric Power Research Institute projects the national total will reach 9% to 17% by 2030. In Virginia, it could climb to between 39% and 57%. Baltimore residents saw average monthly bills rise by more than $17 after a single grid auction. Those costs fall on ratepayers whether or not they use a single AI product.
The resistance is one reason tech companies are exploring alternatives as far-flung as data centers in orbit. The terrestrial constraints driving that interest deserve close examination on their own terms.
On June 4, both chambers of the New York State Legislature passed the Responsible Data Center Development Act, imposing a one-year moratorium on new permits for data centers with a peak demand of 20 megawatts or more. If signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, New York would become the first state to enact a statewide construction pause. The law directs state agencies to complete an environmental impact report within 18 months and requires data centers above five megawatts to procure at least one-third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and at least 90% by 2040.
Moratorium bills have also been introduced in Maine, Vermont, Oklahoma, Maryland, Georgia, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Hampshire and Virginia. Oklahoma's SB 1488 would halt all new data center construction until November 2029. Vermont's S.205 would pause facilities above 10 megawatts until July 2030. No state has a statewide moratorium currently in force, but bills that die in committee tend to return in revised form.
At the local level, the pressure is more direct. Data Center Watch found that 16 data center projects were delayed or rejected between May 2024 and March 2025. Virginia alone has 42 activist groups campaigning to slow, stop, or regulate data center development. In Warrenton, Va., voters replaced every town council member who supported an Amazon $AMZN data center proposal in the November 2024 election.
Electricity costs are the most politically potent grievance. PJM Interconnection's independent market monitor found that existing and forecast data center load added $23.1 billion to capacity market revenues across three consecutive auctions covering 2025 through 2028. PJM's 13-state grid stretches from Illinois to Washington, D.C., and those costs flow directly to residential ratepayers.
Water is a growing concern. U.S. data centers directly consumed 17.4 billion gallons in 2023, a figure projected to reach between 38 billion and 73 billion gallons by 2028, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A single large data center can consume up to five million gallons per day, enough to supply a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Noise complaints have proved effective at organizing opposition. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute documented reports of headaches, vertigo, nausea and sleep disturbances among residents near data centers, driven by the constant 24-hour presence of the sound rather than its peak volume. A 2024 Virginia legislative audit found that almost one-third of the state's data centers sit within 200 feet of residentially zoned properties. Chesapeake, Va., residents organized within days of learning about a proposed facility, and the city council voted unanimously to block it.
Data center jobs cost taxpayers more than almost any other subsidized industry. The public cost per position averages $1.95 million, according to Good Jobs First, which analyzed 11 data center megadeals. Once tax breaks lasting a decade or longer are factored in, that figure rises above $2 million per permanent full-time position, about eight times the average cost per job in large economic development deals. At least 10 states already lose more than $100 million per year in tax revenue to data center exemptions.
Virginia passed 15 data center bills in 2026, including a new permit process for facilities using 100 megawatts or more, mandatory sound assessments for homes and schools within 500 feet, and a requirement that large energy users pay for the cost of increasing generation capacity. Loudoun County, where much of the industry is concentrated, ended by-right zoning for data centers in March 2025, requiring all new applications to go through public hearings.
Georgia has seen repeated attempts to claw back incentives. The legislature passed a bill in 2024 to pause the state's sales tax exemption, but Governor Brian Kemp vetoed it, arguing that businesses had already made plans relying on the tax break. A University of Georgia analysis projected the state would forgo $307 million more than it collects from data center-related sales taxes between 2024 and 2030. New bills in the 2025-2026 session have sought again to eliminate or suspend the exemption.
Federal policy is pulling in the opposite direction. The Trump administration has encouraged faster permitting and organized a voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge signed by data center developers in March 2026. But 27 states are advancing legislation that would impose enforceable cost-sharing requirements, and many set reporting thresholds at 10 megawatts, well below the federal executive order's 100-megawatt floor. The industry has responded with voluntary pledges and lobbying against the most restrictive bills. That strategy depends on ratepayer costs and water consumption stabilizing. Neither is guaranteed.
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