A Brookings commentary by David M. Klaus and Mark MacCarthy argues that AI data centers should pay the full cost of the power they consume, warning that the boom's massive energy demands are driving rate increases that burden ordinary customers. Citing rising electricity rates, utility petitions in Virginia and Ohio, and state efforts to impose separate data center tariffs, the authors recommend tariffs that isolate data center costs and frontloaded infrastructure payments to protect ratepayers and utilities from the bubble's risks.