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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and a group of Democratic senators have reportedly raised concerns about the surge in electricity bills, which they partly attribute to the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
Sanders, along with Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), have written to the White House and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, demanding a strategy to mitigate the rising costs associated with data centers that power AI applications, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
The senators specifically targeted tech giants such as Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), OpenAI, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), which are driving a massive data-center expansion across the U.S.
They criticized the Trump administration for expediting these projects, claiming that it has put Americans in “bidding wars” with mega companies to “keep the lights on at home.”
See Also: Trump Hints At Nearing ‘Much Different’ And ‘Fair’ Trade Deal With India: ‘They’ll Love Us Again’
The senators’ letter comes as electricity prices, earlier this month, have risen 11% since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, contradicting his campaign promise to cut energy costs by half by 2026, according to new U.S. Energy Information Administration data analyzed by Climate Power.
Meanwhile, as per the the U.S. Department of Energy, data centers are projected to consume as much as 12% of U.S. electricity by 2028, up from 4.4% in 2023.
Earlier this month, a group of Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), accused the Trump administration of worsening the energy crisis through policies favoring fossil fuels while undermining clean energy expansion.
Meanwhile, venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya has warned that tech giants like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet Inc. could face growing backlash from local communities unless they act to offset rising electricity rates tied to massive AI data center expansion.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
