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AI data centers add pressure to Illinois power costs as demand surges
A rapid buildout of electricity-hungry data centers is tightening demand across the multistate grid that serves northern Illinois, while ComEd customers face higher bills. Illinois is expanding nuclear capacity, but questions remain about who will pay for new power and how the state will meet its climate goals.
The rapid growth of data centers built to support artificial intelligence is adding pressure to the electric grid serving Chicago and northern Illinois, with rising power costs already reaching ComEd customers.
More than 100 data centers are operating, under construction or proposed in northern Illinois, part of an estimated 5,000 projects at various stages across the country. The facilities use enormous amounts of electricity; nearly every one requires power on the scale of a midsize city, according to industry estimates cited in the report.
That demand is contributing to higher electricity costs. Northern Illinois is part of PJM Interconnection, a multistate power system that coordinates electricity supply across a dozen states and Washington, D.C. Because the region shares the system, prices reflect demand across the broader network, including the needs of large new data centers. ComEd customers began seeing higher bills in 2025.
The surge comes as the state’s electricity system is again under strain, decades after a major 1999 blackout darkened parts of Chicago’s Loop for as long as 11 hours. ComEd has continued investing in its delivery network, but grid upgrades alone do not create additional electricity: power must also be generated and moved to customers.
Illinois gets more than half of its electricity from nuclear power. The state has six nuclear plants, and the Byron plant near Rockford is undertaking $355 million in improvements intended to increase output. Plant manager Shane Harvey said newer, more efficient equipment will allow the facility to produce more power.
Nuclear power produces electricity without the carbon emissions associated with coal and natural gas, but the growing demand also raises concerns about reliance on fossil-fuel generation while cleaner resources are being developed. Illinois law sets a goal of eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by mid-century.
The cost burden has become a political issue. Gov. JB Pritzker has paused financial incentives for data-center developers until lawmakers address rising electric bills. President Donald Trump has also called on technology companies to commit to paying for the energy their operations require. Google is investing in five Illinois nuclear plants, though it remains uncertain whether such investments will meet the scale of demand.
Lawmakers are considering whether data-center owners should face binding requirements to cover more of the costs tied to their power needs. Without changes, the expansion could leave households and other businesses paying for a larger share of a grid increasingly shaped by energy-intensive technology companies.