Key Points
- Bernie Sanders and Ron DeSantis have both come out against the rapid growth of AI data centers.
- Sanders has called for a national moratorium, while DeSantis wants to give local communities veto power.
- The nation’s largest power grid, PJM, is facing a “crisis stage” shortage of electricity.
- Rising utility bills, driven by data center demand, are becoming a major political issue.
Bernie Sanders and Ron DeSantis are on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but they have found a common enemy: the AI industry’s insatiable appetite for electricity. Both politicians have recently come out against the rapid construction of massive data centers, signaling a political storm is brewing over the AI boom’s impact on power grids, electricity prices, and the job market.
Sanders, the Democratic Socialist senator from Vermont, has called for a national moratorium on all new data center construction. He worries about the impact on jobs and argues that “oligarchs” shouldn’t be allowed to steamroll communities.
On the other side, DeSantis, the right-wing governor of Florida, unveiled an “AI bill of rights” that would give local communities the power to block new data centers. He warned that the U.S. grid simply doesn’t have enough capacity to support the industry’s ambitious plans.
This unlikely alliance highlights a growing problem. The nation’s largest power grid, PJM Interconnection, is already at a “crisis stage.” Serving 65 million people in states like Virginia and Pennsylvania, the grid is projected to be 6 gigawatts short of its needs by 2027. This shortage, driven largely by data centers, makes blackouts more likely and is already driving up electricity bills for regular families.
The political backlash is already being felt. In Virginia, the world’s largest data center market, rising utility bills were a key issue in the recent gubernatorial race. With residential electricity prices expected to rise another 4% nationwide in 2026, the cost of living will likely be a major theme in the upcoming midterm elections.
The AI industry is now facing pushback from all sides. Regulators are starting to require data centers to pay for their own grid upgrades, and some are even suggesting that new projects should be rejected if there isn’t enough power to serve them.
As the debate heats up, the AI boom’s path forward looks a lot more complicated than it did just a year ago.
