EPRI Study Finds Downward Rate Pressure
Asa Watten is an EPRI economist. Geoff Blanford is EPRI principal technical executive.
Rising electricity prices have been linked by many observers to the rapid growth of data centers. However, a new study from EPRI reaches a different conclusion. Between 2015 and 2024, data center growth in the United States modestly reduced average retail electricity rates, compared to what they would have been, rather than increasing them.
Other studies (such as, Wiser et al., 2025 and EPRI’s Win-Win Watts report) show that electricity prices have tended to grow more slowly in states that saw higher load growth. This research is the first to estimate the price impact of new load from data centers using a causal methodology. The study concludes that, on average, data centers put downward pressure on residential electricity rates during the period analyzed.
Data Centers Not Correlated with Higher Electricity Rates
Data centers are becoming a major part of the U.S. energy landscape. As artificial intelligence and other digital services continue to expand, data centers consumed roughly 4.5 percent of U.S. electricity in 2024 and are projected to account for 9 percent to 17 percent of national electricity demand by 2030.