As electricity bills rise, candidates in both parties blame data centers

GAINESVILLE, Va. — On Friday night, dueling candidates for a board of supervisors seat in this suburban county found a cause that united them: banning new data centers.

“I think we should, personally, block all future data centers,” said Patrick Harders, the Republican running for an open seat on the Prince William County board. George Stewart, his Democratic opponent, agreed that “the crushing and overwhelming weight of data centers” was a crisis, with massive companies “having us, as residents, pay for their energy.”

As electricity bills rise, a growing number of US candidates in both parties are pointing to the high energy costs of data centers — booming thanks to tech companies’ AI investments — as the culprit. While the issue isn’t yet a flashpoint in statewide races, it’s already an overwhelming source of debate in local ones, especially in Virginia.

With the space and energy demands of data centers roiling town and county politics, critics in both parties have rebelled against what, in his May veto of a regulatory bill, outgoing GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin called an “immense opportunity for localities across the commonwealth.” There’s now bipartisan support for bills that would slow the centers’ growth.

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