What Are AI Data Centers Doing To Your Electric Bill?

Short Wave

NPR

Science, Life Sciences, Daily News, Astronomy, News, Nature

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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 [email protected].

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1:47.7	Hi, Shortwaver's Emily Kwong here with NPR alum, now independent science writer, one of our favorite reporters on the planet, Dan Charles.
1:56.0	Oh, you make me all choked up. Hi, Emily.
1:58.3	Hey, Dan. Okay, you've brought us basically a mystery novel.
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