Northern Illinois spared worst of power bill spike
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Map showing the average March 2026 electricity bills for residents of Illinois counties. Data: Heatmap News; Chart: Heatmap News.
Residents of Northern Illinois pay about $140 per month for electricity — far less than the roughly $197 paid in central and southern parts of the state, according to Heatmap News data.
Why it matters: Although power bills have jumped across the state, they've hit some areas harder than others, which could shed light on statewide anger over energy prices while giving Chicagoans something to feel grateful for.
The big picture: Americans are spending an estimated average of $153 per month on their home electricity bills, per an Axios analysis of data collected by Heatmap.
State of play: Rising electricity demand — including power-hungry AI data centers — is pushing up costs and prompting legislation at the national and state levels. Springfield lawmakers are weighing provisions of the POWER Act to regulate data center energy use.
Zoom in: Nantucket County, Massachusetts ($296); San Francisco County, California ($282) and Nobles County, Minnesota ($273) had the highest estimated average monthly electric bills in the continental U.S. across 2025.
Between the lines: While Northern Illinois electricity bills rose 46.3% from March 2020 to March 2026, they spiked by 72.7% in much of the rest of the state, due to multiple factors.
- Across the state, ratepayers saw a jump in 2022 driven by "the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the spiraling costs, especially of gas, that resulted," Sarah Moskowitz, Executive Director at the Citizens Utility Board, tells Axios.
- In June 2025, they spiked again when grid operators set power prices at a capacity auction based on forecasted demand from new data centers — even some that may not materialize — Moskowitz says.
Geographical divide: Prices jumped even higher in Central and Southern counties, Moskowitz said, after the downstate power company and grid operators (Ameren and MISO) "changed the way their market is constructed."
- She also notes the higher energy demands of older, larger housing, which is common in rural areas.
The intrigue: The average March electricity bill in Cook County ($104.03) checked in much lower than every county but one in Indiana.
What we're watching: Whether and how the Illinois General Assembly passes the POWER Act next month, which would require massive data centers to report and generate the power they use in the state.