COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohioans paid significantly higher electric and natural gas bills this summer, with Consumer Energy Solutions reporting some customers seeing increases of up to 44%.

Energy experts say the surge stems from a mix of factors that included rising natural gas costs and expensive grid updates to meet the growing use of artificial intelligence by giant data centers.

Most people understand that higher fuel costs drive up energy prices.

For example, CES reports that Columbia Gas of Ohio’s Standard Choice Offer rate climbed nearly 26% over the past seven months, rising from $0.52 per CCF in December 2024 to $0.65 in July. That drove up electric generation at gas-fired power plants.

But that’s only part of the puzzle. The rest lies in the price of generating, transmitting, and

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