Opinion: Do data centers drive up energy costs?

Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2026

in: Columns, Opinion, Business

Kimball argues Washington's rising energy bills stem from CETA and CCA regulations, not data centers. — Kimball argues Washington’s rising energy bills stem from CETA and CCA regulations, not data centers. Photo courtesy Canva

🎧 Data Centers and Energy Costs: What the Data Shows

Donald Kimball says if lawmakers are actually serious about keeping energy prices down, the only realistic, long-term solution is expanding our energy production and revoking ineffective environmental policies

Donald Kimball
Washington Policy Center

Energy prices are a major concern right now, but targeting data centers is the wrong approach to keep costs down.

Donald Kimball

Nationwide and here in Washington state, the data shows that areas with high concentrations of data centers actually saw slower increases in energy prices than areas without them.

The economic reason for this is straightforward. When electricity producers sell massive amounts of continuous power to a data center, the fixed costs of running a power plant are distributed across more kilowatts sold. This often reduces prices for nearby residential customers because their share of the electricity now covers less of the energy supplier’s fixed overhead.

While heavy future buildouts could alter this trend moving forward, Washington’s current energy price hikes stem from bad environmental policy, not tech facilities. Puget Sound Energy itself confirms data centers are not the factor driving up rising costs.

The real drivers pushing your bill upward are regulations like the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) and the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which force energy costs higher while achieving little.

If lawmakers are actually serious about keeping energy prices down, the only realistic, long-term solution is expanding our energy production and revoking ineffective environmental policies.

You can read my full analysis on this issue as published in The Spokesman-Review.

Donald Kimball is the communications manager and tech exchange editor at the Washington Policy Center.