ComEd Inks Deals to Keep Data Centers From Boosting Energy Bills

Chicago’s biggest electricity company, Commonwealth Edison Co., is taking steps to prevent the data center boom backing the rise of artificial intelligence from raising energy bills for consumers.

The unit of Exelon Corp., which supplies more than 4 million consumers in Chicago and northern Illinois, will require users to provide financial commitments for large-scale projects, ComEd said in a statement on Tuesday. The company has already struck deals with eight firms, preventing existing businesses and households from paying for more than $2 billion in transmission costs over the next decade.

Concerns are mounting over who will cover the ...