Rising electricity prices – driven in part by demand to build data centers – are making energy unaffordable for thousands of Missouri families, according to consumer advocates, and the issue has gotten the attention of U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri.

“Well, my concern is this. We’ve got tens of thousands now of Missouri ratepayers who can’t afford their electricity bills, who are getting kicked off of the grid. And yet these AI data centers look to me like they’re getting a sweetheart deal,” Hawley told Missourinet. “I mean, they’re coming in here sucking up the electricity off of the grid, taking it away from hard working Missourians. I think that’s exactly backwards.”

Nearly 15,000 Ameren Missouri customers lost power in September, according to records released by the Missouri Publi

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