New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill came into office promising to lower energy costs — even pledging to freeze utility rates.
Instead, they could soon be on the rise.
Electricity bills for New Jersey residents jumped about 20 percent last year, leading to record-high costs this winter — a spike regulators and consumer advocates say is being driven by the explosive growth of energy-hungry data centers powering the AI boom.
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The surge is creating an early political test for Sherrill, a newly elected Democrat who made affordability the centerpiece of her campaign. She now faces rising costs driven by forces largely outside her control.
