Ever wondered who's really paying for the AI gold rush? Here's a twist nobody's talking about enough.

Data centers are sprouting up everywhere. Companies are racing to build massive AI computation hubs, promising economic growth and technological breakthroughs. Sounds great, right? But there's a catch that could hit regular households hard.

The energy demands are astronomical. These facilities consume electricity at rates that dwarf traditional computing operations. Power grids are being upgraded, new infrastructure is getting built. And someone has to foot that bill.

What happens if this boom suddenly cools down? If AI investments don't pan out as expected? If demand drops faster than anyone predicted?

The infrastructure costs don't just vanish. Utility companies will have spent billions on upgrades. Those investments need to be recovered somehow. And guess who's left holding the bag when corporate clients scale back?

Ordinary families. Your monthly electric bill could absorb those stranded infrastructure costs. It's the classic problem of socialized losses after privatized gains.

The parallels to other tech bubbles are uncomfortable. Build massive infrastructure on rosy projections, then everyday consumers bear the financial burden when reality doesn't match the hype.

Worth watching how utilities and regulators handle this risk. Because unlike corporate balance sheets, household budgets don't have much room for surprise infrastructure surcharges.