Large-Load Electricity Customers and Spillovers on Household Prices: Evidence from U.S. Data Centers

Cameron Scalera, Valentina Bosetti and Filippo Pecci

No 21854, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: We study how large-load customers affect household electricity prices. We map the AI-associated data center build-out in the years following 2021 to U.S. utility territories and implement a shift-share design based on pre-AI fiber infrastructure. A standard deviation of ten data centers raises household electricity prices by 13%, and a single hyperscaler facility increases prices by 4%. Demand-driven channels seem to be the dominant mechanism, and households bear a disproportionate burden compared to other customers. Nonprofit utilities, energy surplus, and retail competition may mitigate price impacts. Our results provide novel insights about electricity price spillovers from large individual consumers.

Keywords: Data; centers; -; energy; transition; -; regional; spillovers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-08
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