Artificial Intelligence and data centers have been blamed for rising electricity costs across the U.S. In December 2025, American consumers paid 42% more to power their homes than ten years ago. 

“When you have increased demand and inadequate supply, costs are going to go up. And that’s what we’re experiencing right now,” Exelon CEO Calvin Butler said. 

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In 2024, U.S. data centers used more than 4% of total U.S. electricity consumption according to the International Energy Agency. That equates to as much electricity as the entire nation of Pakistan uses annually. U.S. Data Center consumption is expected to grow by 133% by the end of the decade, using as much power as the entire country of France. 

“We’re headquartered in Chicago, and we’re the owner of ComEd, the fourth-largest utility in the nation. ComEd’s peak load is roughly 23 gigawatts. We have had data center load come onto the system, but by 2030, we’ll be at 19 Gigawatts,” Butler said. 

Commonwealth Edison has experienced a dramatic increase in data center connection requests. The potential projects total more than 30 gigawatts and are expected to come online between now an 2045.

“Our growth is unprecedented in the last several decades. So, with the data center advent and the technology coming, we’ve been forced to serve that load, which is our responsibility,” Butler said. “But what we also have to do is build new generation supply, which is not keeping up with the load that is coming on. And that’s the crunch that we’re in right now.”

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Commonwealth Edison is asking regulators for a $15.3 billion 4-year grid update to meet the growing demand. The U.S. overall has increased its grid capacity by more than 15% over the last decade, but many utility companies and energy producers say it is not enough. 

“We’re at a stage right now where we’re constrained by electricity,” Commonwealth Fusion Systems CEO Bob Mumgaard said. “You want to make power plants that can make a lot of power in a small package that you can put anywhere, that you could run at any time and fusion fits that bill.”

Commonwealth Fusion Systems is working to add a new form of nuclear energy to the grid — fusion. It has the same reliable benefits of standard nuclear energy already in use, but does not produce long-lived radioactive waste and carries fewer risks. 

“In fusion there’s no chain reaction. The result is helium which is safe and inert and you don’t use it to make anything related to weapons,” Mumgaard said. 

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Commonwealth Fusion Systems says Artificial Intelligence is helping bring fusion energy closer to being a new resource. 

“Building and designing these complex machines and manipulating this complex data matter of plasma are all things that we’re still learning and we’re still figuring out how to do,” Mumgaard said. “And that’s an area where we’ve been able to accelerate using A.I.”

Other under-utilized energy sources could soon get a big boost thanks to A.I. Geothermal energy is a small part of the electric grid, because of the high drilling costs and low confidence in where to place infrastructure. 

“If you could drill the perfect geothermal well every single time, like you pick the right spot, you design the right well, you drill the 5,000, 8,000 feet, you hit 400F degree temperatures, that’s incredibly productive,” Zanskar Co-founder Joel Edwards said. “If you could do that every single time over and over and again, geothermal power is the cheapest source of power period.” 

Zanskar is working to make the geothermal search more exact. The company uses A.I.-fueled mapping to find untapped resources previously thought non-existent. 

“If we could just get more precise in where we go to find the things and then how we drill into the things, geothermal absolutely has the cost curve to come down,” Edwards said. “And that’s sort of what we’re running towards, with A.I. sort of giving us the boost, giving us an edge to do that.”

Both geothermal and nuclear fusion can produce energy in any weather at any time, a component that could have helped ease the grid strain amid the recent winter storm. 

“It’s critical, and we’ve been raising that alarm for years now, and I use the analogy that you’re driving a car and your check engine light is on, but you keep driving it, hoping that you’ll keep getting there and keep going, but when it breaks down, you’re going to have a significantly higher cost,” Butler said. “We have to pay attention to what’s going on, and this winter storm – Winter Storm Fern – is indicative of what’s coming.”

Waymo announced a $16 billion investment round aimed at bringing its robotaxi business to more US cities, as well as some overseas markets. The funding round was led by Dragoneer Investment Group, a “crossover” firm known for investing in late-stage tech companies before they go public.

Waymo’s co-CEOs said in a blog post they would use some of the money to buy more vehicles to grow its fleets size, a crucial step as it seeks to launch in at least 20 new cities in 2026. The company currently operates more than 2,500 robotaxis in six US cities. The new funding values Waymo at $126 billion.

Waymo’s latest funding round attracted several new investors, including Dragoneer, Sequoia Capital, and DST Global. Returning investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Perry Creek Capital, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, Temasek, and T. Rowe Price. The company last raised a $5.6 billion in 2024, valuing the company at $45 billion.

Despite their promise to bring down costs by eliminating driver jobs, autonomous ridehail vehicles are enormously expensive. In addition to vehicle purchases, companies must install expensive sensors and computers into each vehicle. The robotaxis need to be monitored by remote operators during trips. And fleet managers handle EV charging, cleaning, and sensor calibration while the robotaxis are offline.

Still, Waymo is one of the few companies to run a paid service with fully driverless vehicles in the US. Amazon’s Zoox is still running free trips in a handful of cities, while Tesla has yet to transition away from using safety monitors in the vehicle.

The Super Bowl is not only the biggest sporting event of the year, but it has also become one of the busiest scam seasons.

Every February, millions of Americans receive texts, emails and calls tied to the game, such as “Your ticket couldn’t be delivered,” “Your streaming account needs verification” or “Your betting account was locked.” At first glance, these messages may seem like random spam, but in reality, they are carefully targeted.

Instead of blasting messages blindly, scammers rely on data brokers – companies that collect, package and sell personal information. These brokers build detailed profiles, and scammers either buy or steal those lists to decide exactly who to target and when.

Below, I’ll explain how this system works and, more importantly, how you can remove yourself from the data pipeline scammers depend on.

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Why Super Bowl season is a gold mine for scammers

Big events create urgency, emotion and distraction – perfect conditions for fraud. During Super Bowl week, scammers use the same themes real companies use:

• Ticket confirmations
• Streaming service alerts
• Betting account warnings
• Delivery delays for food or merchandise.

But here’s the key: they don’t blast these messages randomly. They target people who look like likely buyers. That targeting comes from your digital profile.

How scammers know you’re a ‘Super Bowl target’

You might never have posted about football, yet you still receive a fake ticket message. That’s because data brokers build profiles using your:

• Address history
• Household size
• Income range
• Age
• Shopping behavior
• Most-used apps
• Frequently visited websites
• Household members.

These details are stitched together from retailers, apps, public records and tracking tools – then sold to marketers and, eventually, leaked or resold to scammers. So when Super Bowl season arrives, scammers simply filter their lists: “People who look like they’d watch the game, place a bet, or order food.” And your phone number is right there.

The most common Super Bowl scam messages

During Super Bowl week, scammers flood inboxes and phones with messages that look like they came from legitimate companies. The goal is simple: create urgency, make you click and steal your information before you have time to think. Here are the scams I see spike every February:

1) Fake ticket alerts

“Your Super Bowl ticket transfer failed. Verify now.”

These messages pretend to come from Ticketmaster, StubHub or SeatGeek. They claim your ticket couldn’t be delivered, your transfer is pending or your account needs verification. The link takes you to a fake login page that looks identical to the real site. The moment you enter your email and password, scammers capture your credentials. Many victims then find their real ticket accounts emptied, their payment methods used or their email taken over.

How to spot it:

• The sender’s address is misspelled
• The link leads to a lookalike domain
• The message creates panic and urgency.

What to do: Never click. Go directly to the ticket site through your browser or app.

2) Streaming account warnings

“Your Super Bowl stream is on hold. Update billing now.”

These messages impersonate major streaming platforms like YouTube TV, Hulu, ESPN, Peacock or cable providers. They claim your payment failed or your account is suspended just before kickoff. The link sends you to a fake billing page that steals your credit card details, login credentials or both. Some versions install malware that records keystrokes and login activity.

Why this works: Millions of people stream the Super Bowl. Scammers know most recipients won’t even question it.

What to do: Open the streaming app directly and check your account there. Ignore any links in the message.

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3) Betting account freezes

“Your wager is pending. Confirm your identity.”

These target people who have been flagged by data brokers as likely sports bettors. Messages claim your account with DraftKings, FanDuel or BetMGM is locked due to “suspicious activity.”

The fake verification page asks for:

• Your full name
• Date of birth
• Social Security number
• Bank or card details.

This gives scammers everything they need to commit identity theft.

What to do: Never respond to betting account messages outside the official app.

4) Merch and food delivery scams

“Your Super Bowl order is delayed. Track here.”

Scammers mimic popular retailers and delivery apps, like Amazon, DoorDash, Uber Eats, FedEx and USPS. They claim your food, jersey or party supplies couldn’t be delivered.

Clicking the tracking link can:

• Install malware
• Redirect you to a fake login page
• Steal your payment info.

Why it works: People are expecting packages and food orders that week, so the message feels real.

What to do: Use the retailer’s official app or website to check orders.

Why families are hit even harder

Your data isn’t isolated. Data brokers connect people living at the same address, spouses, children and roommates. So one exposed profile becomes an entire household target. During Super Bowl weekend, when everyone’s using phones, scanning QR codes and ordering food, one bad click can put the whole family at risk.

The real problem: you’re still on the lists

Most people try to protect themselves by:

• Deleting emails
• Blocking numbers
• Installing antivirus software.

Those help, but they don’t stop your data from being sold again tomorrow. As long as your information exists in data-broker databases, scammers can keep finding you. That’s why I recommend removing your data at the source.

The ‘game-day cleanup’ that stops the targeting

If you want fewer scam messages, not just better filters, you need to remove your personal data from data brokers. That’s where a data removal service comes in. While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com.

What to do before Super Bowl weekend

Here’s how to protect yourself right now:

• Don’t click Super Bowl messages. Even if they look real, go directly to the company’s website instead. Use strong antivirus software to help block malicious links, fake websites and malware before they can steal your information.Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.
• Avoid QR codes from emails or texts. Many link to fake login pages.
• Use credit cards, not debit cards. They offer stronger fraud protection.
• Remove your data from broker sites. This is the single most effective way to reduce scam targeting.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Super Bowl scams are not random. Instead, they are precision-targeted using personal data sold behind the scenes. While you cannot stop scammers from trying, you can make it harder for them to find you. By removing your data now, you reduce scam messages, limit fake alerts and lower your risk, not only this Super Bowl, but throughout the entire year. That kind of protection is a win worth celebrating.

Have you received scam texts or emails tied to the Super Bowl? What did they look like, and did you almost fall for one? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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