A trio of U.S. senators, Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), sent a letter to several hyperscalers voicing concerns and demanding answers regarding the rapid development of data centers for artificial intelligence and its relationship to higher electricity costs, according to The New York Times.
The senators sent the letter on Tuesday to Google (GOOG)(GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), CoreWeave (CRWV), Digital Realty (DLR) and Equinix (EQIX), the report said.
“We write in light of alarming reports that tech companies are passing on the costs of building and operating their data centers to ordinary Americans, as A.I. data centers’ energy usage has caused residential electricity bills to skyrocket in nearby communities,” the letter said, according to the report.
The lawmakers are requesting a response from these companies by Jan. 12, 2026.
Data centers accounted for 4.4% of U.S. electricity consumption in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. That figure is expected to reach as high as 12% by 2028.
The average price for residential electricity increased by 7% year over year from September 2024 to September 2025, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The largest price increases occurred in the Middle Atlantic, East North Central and South Atlantic regions.
Last month, Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said that cheaper and more abundant electricity in China is helping them advance in the AI race.