Rising energy costs are sparking growing public concern as tech companies race to build massive new data centers to power the AI boom. A recent survey commissioned by solar installer Sunrun reveals that 80% of consumers worry about how expanding data centers will drive up their electricity bills. These concerns are grounded in real trends. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, electricity demand remained flat for over a decade before a sharp uptick began five years ago. Since then, commercial users—including data centers and industrial facilities—have significantly increased their consumption, growing at 2.6% and 2.1% annually, respectively. Residential use, by contrast, rose only 0.7% per year. Today, data centers consume about 4% of the nation’s electricity—more than double their share in 2018. Projections from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggest that by 2028, that figure could climb to between 6.7% and 12%, driven largely by AI workloads. Despite the surge in demand, electricity generation has kept pace thanks to a rapid expansion of renewable energy. Solar, wind, and grid-scale battery storage have provided the bulk of new capacity. Tech giants are increasingly signing long-term contracts for utility-scale solar projects, drawn by their low cost, flexibility, and fast deployment—typically taking just 18 months to come online. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects renewables to dominate new power generation through at least 2025. However, experts warn that a potential Republican-led repeal of key provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act could slow renewable growth, undermining this progress. Meanwhile, natural gas—another popular energy source for data centers—has failed to meet rising demand. While domestic production has increased, much of the new supply is being exported. Between 2019 and 2024, electricity generators’ natural gas use rose 20%, but exports surged by 140%. New gas-fired power plants are also lagging, taking around four years to complete. A global backlog of turbines has worsened the situation, with manufacturers citing delivery timelines stretching up to seven years. New production capacity is unlikely to ease the strain anytime soon. While data centers are not the sole drivers of higher electricity use—industrial users are nearly as big a factor—they are the most visible. AI, in particular, has become a lightning rod for public concern. A Pew Research survey found that more people are worried about AI than excited by it, especially as companies use the technology to cut jobs rather than boost worker productivity. With energy prices on the rise and the infrastructure to support the AI boom still catching up, a public backlash may be on the horizon. The challenge for tech companies and policymakers is to scale AI infrastructure without overburdening the grid or inflating consumer energy costs.