The largest electrical grid in the U.S., PJM Interconnection, saw wholesale electricity prices nearly double over the last year. According to a report by Monitoring Analytics, this spike is largely due to data centers, which have surged in demand beyond what the grid can handle.

Wholesale prices for one megawatt-hour of electricity rose to $136.53 from $77.78 at the same time last year. Monitoring Analytics pointed out that the price impacts on customers are large and not reversible, warning that unless the issues with data center load are addressed quickly, prices will continue to rise.

The PJM grid, which includes areas like Northern Virginia teeming with data centers, is under scrutiny. In 2022, the grid operator paused applications for new generating sources due to a backlog, only resuming recently. This delay has exacerbated the issue as electricity demand from data centers continues to skyrocket.

Monitoring Analytics also criticized PJM’s transparency and delayed software upgrades, saying these have left the capacity market in a precarious state. The group argued that without addressing the root cause of this crisis — data center load — neither the current nor future supply will be sufficient to meet demand.