June 12, 2026 10:14 AM UTC

Electoral Gold: Data Centers and Big Electric Rate Increases

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• by: Colorado Pols

We took note last fall of an emerging issue that we predicted would become a key political debate in the 2026 election: The rise of big data centers and the opposition from ratepayers being asked to foot the bill for infrastructure buildout from electricity providers such as Xcel Energy.

As we wrote in August:

The immense data needs for a functional AI system that does more than just produce weird Internet graphics are a problem all their own; AI data centers require massive amounts of energy and water (for keeping its exhausted servers cool). And so far, the proposals from those responsible for meeting those energy needs has been to ask public consumers — like you — to foot the bill.

And then again in November:

Holding the line on allowing energy providers to pump consumers for infrastructure buildout isn’t just good policy — it’s good politics.

Over at The New York Times, columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom sees data center opposition as perhaps a defining issue for November:

Americans hate data centers. They really, really hate them.

A Gallup poll from May found that 71 percent of Americans would oppose a data center being built in their area. In rural communities in Utah and North Carolina, regular people are organizing to stop data center construction, speaking out at public hearings and pressuring politicians for bans. They are passionate enough to attend political education sessions about water rights, land use and thermodynamics. Cities like Tulsa, Okla.; Birmingham, Ala.; and New Orleans have recently passed temporary moratoriums on data center construction. Last week, lawmakers in New York passed a statewide pause on large-scale data centers; other states, including Maryland and Michigan, could be next.

According to polling by Heatmap News, more than half of all Americans support a national ban on data centers. The public seems to agree that data centers are giant, ugly, noisy, smelly altars to industrial-scale hostile architecture. In our virulently partisan country, this constitutes a rare show of consensus.

Local elected officials in Colorado are responding quickly. The Denver City Council approved a one year moratorium on new data centers as they study an appropriate solution. Longmont recently banned large data centers over concerns about water usage.

Politicians running for higher office, such as Governor, have been more reluctant to take a strong stance on data centers, though the narrative should be easy: Corporations that want to build data centers in Colorado should first need prove that they have a plan for addressing the massive resources required, and they should be responsible for funding whatever infrastructure buildout is required for their electricity needs. Local ratepayers should absolutely not be required to foot the bill on either end.