The Data Center Next Door

Your electric bill is going up, and a building you have never seen may be part of the reason. On a Thursday in April 2026, about twenty people filed into Noblesville City Hall, north of Indianapolis, to talk to the commission that sets their electric rates. One told regulators she was tired of the increases and had no other company to buy from. Across the country, similar rooms are filling up. The Data Center Next Door explains why: a wave of new data centers, built to power artificial intelligence, is straining grids that were never planned for them. This book follows the money. It starts with what a kilowatt-hour costs now and an auction almost nobody watched, then travels from Virginia's Data Center Alley to Ohio, Georgia and Texas, where regulators and voters are writing new rules. It examines the new gas plants, the coal plants that stayed open, the transmission lines across state borders, the noise and the water questions, and the tax breaks handed out to win projects. It also gives the industry's case, including jobs and revenue, and looks at how the largest customers could be made to pay their own way. Inside you will find: How data center demand is reshaping electricity prices and capacity auctions What new rate classes for large customers do and do not protect The real costs behind local tax breaks, water use and noise Where fossil plants are being kept running or newly built to serve demand Practical ways residents, officials and regulators can push for fairer terms If you want to understand why your power bill is changing, and what your town can do about it, start here.