Voters’ anger at high electricity bills and data centers looms over 2026 midterms

Rising Electricity Costs Emerge as Key Issue for 2026 Midterm Elections

Voter frustration over escalating electricity bills is quickly becoming a pivotal issue that could shape next year’s midterm elections, with battleground contests likely to be decided in regions facing steep utility rate hikes or disputes over powering energy-intensive data centers.

Recent gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, along with Georgia’s utility regulatory commission races, have already demonstrated the political potency of electricity costs. In Georgia, Democrats successfully ousted two Republican incumbents from the state’s utility commission by targeting rate increases approved by the regulatory body.

Surveys from New Jersey, Virginia, California, and New York City all showed that economic concerns topped voters’ priority lists. As both parties prepare for the intensifying battle to control Congress, affordability has emerged as a central theme. President Donald Trump has signaled he’ll focus heavily on household costs as Republicans fight to maintain their slim congressional majorities, while Democrats blame Trump’s policies for rising prices.

Electricity bills are increasing faster than average U.S. inflation in many regions, though the impact varies significantly by location. According to consumer advocacy organization PowerLines, gas and electric utilities sought or secured rate increases exceeding $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025 alone – more than double the amount from the same period last year.

“There’s a lot of pressure on politicians to talk about affordability, and electricity prices are right now the most clear example of problems of affordability,” explained Dan Cassino, politics professor and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

The timing is particularly problematic for incumbents, as many Americans could see further increases on their monthly bills during the height of next year’s campaign season. With approximately 80 million Americans already struggling to pay utility bills, Charles Hua, PowerLines’ founder, described the situation as forcing “life or death and ‘eat or heat’ type decisions.”

Georgia exemplifies the growing tension. Monthly Georgia Power bills have increased six times over the past two years, now averaging $175 for typical residential customers. The utility, a subsidiary of power giant Southern Co., is proposing to spend $15 billion to expand generating capacity, primarily to meet surging demand from data centers.

Peter Hubbard, a victorious Democratic challenger for Georgia’s utility commission, accused Republicans of “rubber-stamping” rate increases and questioned whether data centers would pay their fair share or if costs would be passed to regular ratepayers. His message resonated with voters like Rebecca Mekonnen of Stone Mountain, who cited “more affordable pricing” as her primary concern when voting for Democratic challengers.

The 2026 midterms will feature congressional battlegrounds in states where rapidly rising electric bills or data center development – or both – have sparked community backlash. Key states include California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

Analysts attribute rising electricity costs to several factors: expensive grid modernization projects, hardening infrastructure against extreme weather and wildfires, soaring demand from data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations, efforts to revive domestic manufacturing, and rising natural gas prices.

“The cost of utility service is the new ‘cost of eggs’ concern for a lot of consumers,” noted Jennifer Bosco of the National Consumer Law Center.

Data centers are driving particularly dramatic demand increases. The International Energy Agency reports that a typical AI data center consumes electricity equivalent to 100,000 homes, with some facilities requiring more power than cities like Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or New Orleans.

While many states initially welcomed data centers for economic development, legislators and utility commissions now face pressure to shield residential customers from bearing the costs of connecting these facilities to the grid. Communities are also increasingly resisting data center development in their neighborhoods.

An October poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found electricity bills to be a “major” source of stress for 36% of U.S. adults. As winter approaches, some states warn that funding for low-income heating assistance faces delays due to the federal government shutdown.

The impact varies significantly by region and utility type. Federal data shows investor-owned, for-profit utilities have raised rates much faster than municipally owned utilities or cooperatives. In the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid from Illinois to New Jersey, analysts say ratepayers are already shouldering billions in costs related to powering data centers – including some not yet constructed.

Next June, electric bills across that region will absorb billions more in higher wholesale electricity costs designed to attract new power plants for data centers. This has prompted governors from Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Maryland – all Democrats seeking reelection – to pressure grid operator PJM Interconnection to contain the increases.

Drew Maloney, CEO of the Edison Electric Institute representing for-profit electric utilities, suggested only certain states drive higher average electric bills: “If you set aside a few states with higher rates, the rest of the country largely follows inflation on electricity rates.” California, addressing wildfire risks through grid upgrades, and New England, facing expensive natural gas due to pipeline constraints, exemplify regions with faster-rising rates.

Nevertheless, the issue transcends political lines. In Indiana, now a data center hotspot, the Citizens Action Coalition reported this year that residential customers of for-profit utilities faced the most severe rate increases in at least two decades, prompting Republican Governor Mike Braun to declare, “we can’t take it anymore.”