ComEd customers in northern Illinois are paying more and more for electricity, and nothing currently suggests that will change. The main reason is the giant data centers that power artificial intelligence.
According to industry estimates, about 5,000 data centers across the country are operating, under construction or planned, including more than 100 in northern Illinois. Nearly every one of them uses as much electricity as a mid-sized city.
Chicago and northern Illinois are part of the PJM grid, which links more than a dozen states in the eastern U.S. and Washington, D.C. Electricity is purchased jointly for the entire region, so when data centers’ demand grows, prices rise for everyone. ComEd customers have seen the effect on their bills since 2025.
Experts say large blackouts are unlikely. More than half of Illinois’ electricity comes from nuclear power plants, which are being modernized. For example, the Byron plant near Rockford is undergoing a $355 million investment to produce more energy.
Gov. JB Pritzker has put a hold on financial incentives for new data centers until state lawmakers pass regulations protecting consumers from rising bills. Politicians are debating rules that would force data center owners to cover a larger share of the costs. For now, ordinary customers are paying.
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Source: Polski.FM
