Homeowners, business owners and renters across the valley may have noticed an atypical increase in their electricity bills this month, in part, due to the high-energy demand of data centers across the Northwest powering artificial intelligence.
Lower Valley Energy’s about 8% average price increase comes alongside the onset of winter, the highest energy use season of the year.
“The impact might even seem greater than the average 7.9% because it’s so cold here for so long,” said Brian Tanabe with the cooperative. “We have the cheapest product in the country, but we use a lot of it.”
LVE is the county’s sole energy provider and Tanabe said their rates are still likely among the nation’s lowest, even with the increase.
Wyomingites pay about 14 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for residential electricity, according to 2025 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The cheapest power was in Nevada and Nebraska, paying less than 13 cents per kWh and the most expensive was in Hawaii, nearing 40 cents per kWh. He’s personally paying about $10 more this October than last for his home’s energy.
“I don’t want to downplay 7.9%. That is an increase that will be noticed for sure,” he said.
The member-owned co-op’s August decision came after the recommendations of a third-party cost analysis that found they’re paying more to buy and transmit power as prices surge across the country. Part of that increase needed to be passed along to the consumer, he said.
“We were experiencing a lot of pressure just procuring the power for our Lower Valley Energy membership,” Tanabe said.
Bonneville Power Administration provides the majority of LVE’s energy and recently raised its transmission and wholesale rates by about 14%.
The Oregon-based federal agency is legally required to cover its cost through its rates, which reflect many factors like inflation and operations.
Spokesperson David Wilson said before this, they hadn’t raised in four years. Wilson said he can’t quantify just how much electricity costs are impacted by data centers powering AI in the Northwest but expects the energy demand to grow as more are built, nonetheless.
“What we’re looking at now is really our attempt to meet the growing needs of the region with these data centers coming online,” Wilson said.
Lower Valley Energy lowered its natural gas rate by 5% on average, effective last month. Its last electric rate increase was last year. This year is its third electric rate increase in three decades.
