We present each company's claim, then what the record adds, and hand the decision to you. Where an argument is weak, we say so. Every claim below traces to a named source.
The national pattern.
Across parts of the country, the electricity demand from large data centers is shifting costs onto ordinary ratepayers. U.S. residential electricity prices rose about 11.5% in 2025, outpacing inflation. Utilities requested more than $29 billion in rate increases in the first half of 2025, double the same period in 2024, largely to fund grid build-out for new large loads. In the 13-state PJM grid, an independent market monitor attributed $9.3 billion (63%) of one year's capacity-auction cost to data-center demand, and Baltimore-area bills rose more than $17 a month after a single auction.1,2,3
The counter-evidence.
The picture is contested. A 2026 analysis by the Institute for Energy Research found no statistically significant relationship between the number of data centers and electricity prices across all 50 states. A May 2026 E3 study treats rising rates as driven by many factors: fuel, transmission, weather, and large loads together. PolitiFact, reviewing the "data centers are raising your bill" claim, rated it partly true but oversimplified: real in some markets, unproven in others.4,5
Two proposals, two very different power questions.
Prichard (Edged, ~6–8 MW). This is in Alabama Power territory, not PJM, so the Baltimore numbers do not transfer. A load this size is not the scale driving the national rate story. Edged's draft service agreement with Alabama Power states there would be no local rate increase, no new substation, self-funded line extensions, and grid-reliability costs borne "at our sole expense." The question is not whether a load this size will spike bills; it is whether those promises move out of a draft and into a binding, public, enforceable commitment.6
Calvert (Beacon, hyperscale). Here the question is far sharper. A hyperscale AI campus can require new generation and transmission, and who pays for that is decided in utility filings, not a press quote. Beacon has not publicly disclosed the Calvert load. Its comparable campuses run from 275 MW (Kern County, CA) to 400 MW+ (Alberta). On its Calvert page, the company says Alabama Power "confirms the energy this development needs already exists on their lines," that "no new power lines will go through the community," and that the project "will not impact community energy bills." Every part of that is attributed to Alabama Power by Beacon, with no Alabama Power statement or filing on the public record; Beacon's own page adds that the cost structure is "subject to state regulatory oversight." If the Calvert contract reaches 150 MW or more, Alabama's SB270 (§37-4-22.1, signed April 17, 2026, effective October 1, 2026) makes it a "Large Load Data Center Customer" and requires the Public Service Commission to confirm the pricing recovers the utility's incremental costs from the data center and yields "positive benefits" to other ratepayers, a check the small Prichard site never triggers. The way to settle it is to publish the utility agreement.7,11
Why this lands harder in Alabama than the national averages suggest.
Alabama Power's residential customers already pay the highest total residential electric bills in the nation (Inside Climate News analysis of 2024 federal filings), on a statewide residential rate of 17.41¢/kWh (April 2026, EIA), the highest in the Southeast. In April 2026 the state enacted HB475, the "Power to the People Act," which freezes only retail base rates from October 1, 2026 to January 1, 2029. It does not freeze the fuel (Rate ECR), storm-reserve (Rate NDR), or other riders that can still move a bill, and the bill's own sponsor said the automatic-rate-case "hammer" was stripped out.8,9
On paper, Alabama Power's tariffs, such as Rate EDI, make large-load customers pay the "full cost of serving," with minimum bills, minimum terms, and claw-backs, and APSC President Cynthia Lee Almond has said the standard is "no free rides for Big Tech." Whether that actually protects residents depends on contract enforcement and whether the utility over-builds generation that never gets used. In Georgia, PSC staff warned in November 2025 that residents could see $20 or more a month in increases from a data-center-driven build-out.9,10
What to put to the company and the commissions.
Who pays for new generation and transmission?
Is any cost of new power plants or lines assigned to the data center, in writing, rather than spread to all ratepayers?
Has the SB270 review happened?
If the Calvert load is 150 MW or more, it is a "Large Load Data Center Customer": has the Public Service Commission's public-interest review of the contract taken place?
Binding, or still a draft?
Are the "no rate increase" assurances in a binding, enforceable document, or only in a press quote or a draft service agreement?
Every claim, sourced.
- EESI, "Data Center Power Demands Are Contributing to Higher Energy Bills."
- CNBC, "Data centers… what's happening to electricity prices," 2025-11-14.
- Bloomberg, "How AI Data Centers Are Sending Your Power Bill Soaring," 2025.
- Institute for Energy Research, via The Daily Economy, 2026.
- PolitiFact, "How much have data centers increased electricity prices?" 2026-06-12.
- MEJAC, "Doing it Differently: Hard Earned Lessons from Engaging with a Proposed AI Data Center on the Africatown side of Prichard," 2026-05-26.
- Alabama SB270 / Ala. Code §37-4-22.1 (enrolled), signed 2026-04-17: defines a "Large Load Data Center Customer" as a contract of 150 MW or greater peak demand.
- U.S. EIA, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (April 2026, released 2026-06-25); Inside Climate News, "How Alabama Power Kept Bills Up and Opposition Out," 2025-11-03.
- Alabama HB475 enrolled (Ala. Code §37-1-81.1), signed 2026-04-02; NBC15 Mobile, "Alabama freezes power rates for 3 years…," 2026-04-03; Alabama Power Rate EDI (APSC Docket U-5017); APSC President Almond press releases, Nov. 2025.
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Analysts warn Georgia Power bills will rise if PSC approves data center buildout," 2025-11-24.
- Beacon Data Centers, "Calvert Infrastructure Hub" campus page (published 2026-06-12, updated 2026-06-30): "Alabama Power confirms the energy this development needs already exists on their lines… No new power lines will go through the community… the project will not impact community energy bills," and the cost structure is "subject to state regulatory oversight." All Alabama Power statements are attributed by Beacon; none appears in a public utility filing. beacondatacenters.com
Keep reading.
Water
How the cooling works, what "closed-loop" actually means on site, and how much water each project would draw.
03Diesel & air
The backup diesel generators, how often they run, and what they add to the air in an area that already lives with a lot of industry.
04Noise
The cooling fans and generators run day and night. How loud that is at the fence line, and how far the low hum carries to the nearest homes.
05Taxes & who pays
The tax breaks projects like these typically seek, the jobs required in return, and what a community trades away in the deal.
06Jobs, the real numbers
How many permanent jobs are actually promised, how many are in writing, and whether they'd go to people who live here.