Utilities are in the crosshairs of the data center backlash

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May 8, 2026

Maeve Alsup, a senior reporter at Latitude Media who covered Lake County, Indiana, politics, utilities, and data center fights. She discusses why utilities are at the center of a bipartisan revolt. Short scenes cover community distrust, rising bills, opaque utility deals, local moratoriums, and how developers and officials fuel the backlash.

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INSIGHT

Distribution Batteries Can Fill Capacity Gaps

Much of the grid capacity being added will be behind-the-meter batteries and distribution-connected resources that don't show up in PJM's interconnection queue.
Caroline Golan notes upcoming mandates for batteries in IL, NJ, MD, and VA could add ~10,000 MW outside PJM's Q process.

INSIGHT

Governors Are Caught Between Data Centers And Voters

Governors face a political trap: they courted data center investment, now face bipartisan backlash over bills and opaque deals and are targeting utilities.
Stephen Lacey cites Governor Shapiro's letter calling the 20th-century utility model broken as emblematic.

ADVICE

Ring Fence Data Center Costs With Existing Regulation

Use existing regulatory tools like ring-fenced tariffs or separate load classes to prevent data centers from shifting costs to regular ratepayers.
Caroline Golan says these long-standing mechanisms can isolate data center costs and protect residential customers.

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Data center opposition is now being called “the most bipartisan issue since beer.” In Indiana, Maine, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin, voters across the political spectrum are turning sharply against the large campuses powering AI. At least 28 of the 38 states that currently offer tax incentives are weighing whether to roll them back.

On this episode of Open Circuit, we dig into what's actually driving the revolt, and why it's more complicated than simple NIMBYism.

Utilities are at the center of the backlash. Governors are increasingly targeting them as anger grows over opaque deals and rising rates.

Last week, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro sent a letter to his state's utilities declaring that "the 20th century utility model is broken." We break down what he's actually proposing and what it says about the impossible position governors now find themselves in.

Later in the show, Latitude Media senior reporter Maeve Allsup to talk about her reporting on the backlash from Indiana, where a $5 billion data center has run headfirst into decades of broken promises and soaring utility bills.

We’ll also take a quick look at PJM's reformed interconnection queue, open for the first time in four years. We’ll look at the dominance of gas, the pullback of renewables, and what it tells us about where grid buildout is actually headed.

Credits: Co-hosted by Stephen Lacey, Jigar Shah, and Caroline Golin. Produced and edited by Stephen Lacey, Sean Marquand, and Anne Bailey.

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Open Circuit is brought to you by FlexGen, a leader in integrated battery energy storage solutions and energy management software. FlexGen helps owners and operators gain greater visibility and control across complex energy systems to maximize performance. Learn more at www.flexgen.com.

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