Experts say rising electric bills in Pennsylvania and nationwide are being driven by growing energy demand from AI data centers, global conflicts like the war in Iran, and the high cost of maintaining aging power grids. (Adobe Stock)
Listen to the story HERE
May 14, 2026
By Danielle Smith
By Anna Gustafson for the Pennsylvania Independent.
Broadcast version by Danielle Smith for Keystone State News Connection reporting for the Pennsylvania Independent-Public News Service Collaboration
Democratic lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House in April introduced a package of legislation that aims to drive down energy prices as residents struggle to pay their bills amid rising electricity costs.
The package of six House bills comes after Pennsylvanians have reported having to cut back on food and medicine to pay their electric bills. In an April 15 press release, Democratic lawmakers said one in five Pennsylvania households has difficulty paying their monthly utility bills. Electricity shutoffs in Pennsylvania increased by about 21% between October 2024 and October 2025.
It also comes as electricity costs are expected to further rise this summer, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, a group that represents state employees who administer federal energy assistance programs.
Families across the commonwealth increasingly need financial relief as they face not only mounting energy prices but a multitude of rising costs, including for groceries and healthcare, Democratic lawmakers said during an April 15 press conference at which they announced their legislation.
“We are here to talk about what feels like the buzzword of the moment, affordability,” state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, a Democratic lawmaker who serves as the chair of the House Energy Committee, said at the press conference held at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. “But, of course, for most working-class and middle-class and poor people, affordability is not a new concept. It’s not a new idea, and it’s not a new thing they are struggling with. For a long time, many people have been struggling. They’re working one, two, three jobs.”
Experts point to a variety of reasons that electric bills are rising in Pennsylvania and across the country, including artificial intelligence data centers increasing the demand for energy, the war in Iran, and aging electrical grids that can be costly to maintain. At the same time that energy prices have gone up, utility CEOs’ salaries have also increased.
To address these issues, the House package — made up of bills 1834, 2131, 1457, 2264, 2223, and 2224 — would regulate data centers, modernize the state’s electric grid, and create a virtual power plant program, among other initiatives. Most of the bills remain in House committees. Two bills are not in committee: House Bill 2224, which would limit profits for utility monopolies, is expected to soon be introduced, and the House on April 29 unanimously passed House Bill 2223. That bill, authored by Fiedler, aims to lower electric bills by requiring that utility companies upgrade existing transmission lines before pursuing costly new infrastructure projects that could result in higher costs for customers.
Rep. Rob Matzie, a Democratic lawmaker who represents a portion of Beaver County in southwest Pennsylvania, said the legislation he’s sponsoring, House Bill 1834, would direct the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to ensure that any costs incurred by data centers are not passed on to consumers. The commission, made up of five members appointed by the governor, regulates such services as electricity, water and natural gas.
“Our bill basically says, if you’re going to build a data center, we don’t want grandma’s bill to go up, bottom line, plain and simple,” Matzie said. “The companies themselves must pay any and all costs associated with connecting to the regional distribution system.”
There has been a flurry of construction of new data centers, and plans for data centers, in Pennsylvania as the demand for artificial intelligence grows. In Archbald, a town of about 7,000 people near the Pocono Mountains, developers are looking to build so many data centers that they would cover 14% of the town, according to reporting from the Washington Post.
Rep. Tarah Probst, whose district covers parts of Monroe and Pike counties in northeast Pennsylvania, said her legislation, H.B. 1457, would save consumers money by prohibiting companies from charging what are known as weather normalization adjustments. Those adjustments involve utility companies billing customers for energy they never use due to unusually warm or cold seasons, such as a colder-then-usual summer when people aren’t using much air conditioning.
“Basically, our utility and energy companies are telling us that we really don’t care what you’re using; it’s what we feel like charging you,” Probst said.
Democratic lawmakers said they hope the Republican-led Senate will consider these bills after they make their way through the House in order to provide some much-needed financial relief to Pennsylvanians.
“The Senate must come on board and negotiate in a good and fair and equitable manner, along with the administration, to come up with something that makes sense,” Matzie said. “Our constituents are asking for this. It’s not that hard. Let’s come together. Let’s find a way. Let’s get it done.”
Anna Gustafson wrote this article for the Pennsylvania Independent.
