Data centers powering artificial intelligence are driving a surge in electricity demand, and that's forcing utilities and regulators to make some big, and expensive, choices.

City councils across the country have had meetings addressing these concerns from eastern Oklahoma, to Montana, and Wisconsin. In addition to environmental concerns are electric bills.

"Every utility in the U.S. I think right now is trying to figure out what is their strategy to accommodate AI and data center demand," said Mike O'Boyle, acting policy team director at non-partisan think tank Energy Innovation.

"Because these demands are so large and the increase is so rapid, there are big expenditures that are needed to meet this demand and then on the other side, there's a lot of uncertainty about when it's going

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