Families across the country are hearing new warnings that if the AI data center boom slows down or “goes bust,” regular customers could still be stuck paying for all the new power plants and grid upgrades built to serve it. At the same time, new forecasts show data center electricity demand could roughly triple by 2035, adding pressure to utilities that also serve homes and small businesses.

What happened today

National energy experts are flagging a growing risk: utilities are signing big, long‑term deals and planning new power plants to feed huge AI‑driven data centers, but if those projects get delayed, downsized, or canceled, the costs do not simply disappear. Instead, regulators often spread those costs across the rest of the customer base, which means higher monthly bills for families and small businesses that never asked for these projects in the first place.

New analysis from BloombergNEF and others estimates that U.S. data centers could use around 106 gigawatts of power by 2035, up from roughly 40 gigawatts today – nearly a three‑fold jump in about a decade. To picture that, a single gigawatt can power close to a million homes, so utilities are effectively planning power for tens of millions of “virtual homes” worth of extra demand, mostly for servers running AI and cloud services, not for new households.

This surge is showing up in regional power markets that include Indiana, where utilities and grid operators are lining up new generation, transmission lines, and substations to feed data centers as they cluster around cities and major highways. Analysts are warning that if expectations prove too optimistic – for example, if AI spending cools or some large campuses never fully materialize – the system could be “overbuilt,” and everyday customers would still be on the hook for the investments through their rates.

Why this matters for Indianapolis

Indianapolis is already on the data center map, with a Seattle‑based developer, Sabey Corp., pursuing a multi‑building data center campus on about 130 acres in Decatur Township, potentially backed by major local tax breaks. Neighbors have raised questions about how much electricity such a site would use, what it means for noise and traffic, and who ultimately pays for the new power lines and substations needed to keep it running 24/7.

At the same time, residents just watched a different story play out: Google stepped back from a massive proposed data center campus in Franklin Township after months of community pushback over land use, environmental concerns, and tax incentives. That experience left many people wondering what happens when big‑name tech projects appear, prompt utilities and local governments to start planning around them, and then change direction late in the process.

For local households, the worry is simple: if utilities add new infrastructure or sign big power contracts assuming years of heavy data center demand, and those expectations do not fully pan out, the difference can show up in base rates or “riders” on monthly bills. Higher electricity costs can feed into the broader cost of living, affecting everything from apartment rents and grocery store prices to what small shops pay to keep the lights on, especially in a city where many families are already watching budgets closely.

What to watch next

• Whether state and city officials require stronger guarantees from data center developers, such as higher financial commitments or “take‑or‑pay” arrangements, so that ordinary ratepayers are protected if projects shrink or stall.

• Upcoming hearings and zoning steps for the Sabey data center proposal in Decatur Township, including how much information becomes public about expected power use, water needs, and traffic patterns.

• How AES Indiana and regional grid planners explain future electricity needs, and whether they show clearly how much extra capacity is being built specifically for data centers versus for homes and traditional businesses.

• Any new proposals to link tax incentives or local approvals to concrete community benefits, such as job training programs, neighborhood improvements, or protections for nearby farmland and green space.

• National debates over whether data centers should be required to rely more on renewable energy, energy‑efficient designs, or on‑site generation, to reduce strain on the shared grid that Indy families also depend on.

Sources

• CNBC – How families could get stuck with higher electric bills if the AI data center boom goes bust – Link

• ESG Dive – U.S. data center power demand could reach 106 GW by 2035: BloombergNEF – Link

• Axios – Data centers' power demand surging faster, new analysis shows – Link

• TechCrunch – Data center energy demand forecasted to soar nearly 300% through 2035 – Link

• WFYI – Google backs down from proposed data center after months of opposition – Link

• Indianapolis Star – Data center in Decatur Township faces hostile crowd at town hall – Link