U.S. power companies have applied for permission to raise electricity prices by billions of dollars, driven by the costs of replacing aging infrastructure and powering data centers for artificial intelligence, according to a new report issued this week by energy affordability advocacy group PowerLines. Utilities across the U.S. have requested or received approval to increase rates for this year's H1 by $29B, more than double the cumulative amount of rate increases requested and approved at this point last year, the PowerLines report said. U.S. customers of National Grid (NYSE:NGG), for example, who are located primarily in New York and Massachusetts, are expected to see their monthly bills increase by up to $50/month as the utility received approval to increase its rates by $708M, according to calculations by the Financial Times.