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Big Tech data centers are driving up power bills for factories in the US Rust Belt, with some manufacturers seeing bills rise by 90% in a single year. The costs are threatening the viability of some factories, just as the US government prioritizes domestic manufacturing.
Brad Belden, the president of Belden Brick Company in Ohio, has seen electricity costs for his 141-year-old brick manufacturer surge by 90% in a single year. The company's products can be found in iconic buildings including the Texas Alamo and Notre Dame University. Belden Brick is among many manufacturers across America's heartland where costs are rising as power-hungry data centers serving the artificial intelligence industry proliferate.
The 13-state region covered by grid operator PJM Interconnection sees a 1,038% rise in capacity prices, driven primarily by data center growth. This has pushed up electricity prices more quickly for industrial users in big manufacturing states that are also becoming data center hubs in PJM's region. Average industrial electricity prices were up 31% in Pennsylvania and 26% in Ohio as of December 2025 from 12 months earlier, compared with a 7% rise nationwide for industrial users.
PJM was forced to take emergency steps last week, including asking some users to curb electricity use, to prevent rolling blackouts as searing temperatures pushed peak demand to a new record. The rising costs and regulatory uncertainty threaten some factories' viability at a time when US President Donald Trump is prioritizing domestic manufacturing.
Data center advocates say the industry's rapid expansion is driving long-overdue investments in America's electric grid and cite other factors driving up costs, including power-plant retirements and transmission constraints. According to Synergy Research Group data, the eight US states considered emerging data center hubs, five are in the Rust Belt. Data centers can be built faster than the generation needed to serve them, driving up demand faster than supply, said PJM spokesperson Jeff Shields.
The White House said in a statement that Trump has taken action to cushion the blow on manufacturers, citing his hosting of tech companies signing a 'ratepayer protection pledge' earlier this year and directives to build more power plants in PJM, paid for by tech companies.
A 1,000% price increase PJM, the largest US grid operator, covers a Mid-Atlantic and Midwest manufacturing belt from New Jersey to northern Illinois and as far south as Tennessee that has become attractive to data center developers.
Fact 1: Average industrial electricity prices were up 31% in Pennsylvania and 26% in Ohio as of December 2025 from 12 months earlier. Fact 2: PJM's capacity prices jumped from $28.92 per megawatt-day in 2024 to the current $329.17 per megawatt-day. Fact 3: Belden Brick Company saw electricity costs for his 141-year-old brick manufacturer surge by 90% in a single year. Fact 4: Data centers can use as much electricity as a mid-sized town. Fact 5: The White House said Trump has taken action to cushion the blow on manufacturers, citing his hosting of tech companies signing a 'ratepayer protection pledge' earlier this year.