> Energy prices have risen roughly at the rate of CPI since 2022, perhaps we got used to the relatively flat prices for the previous decade:
That statement seems to be upside-down. Energy factors into the cost of almost every other product, that is, the rise of energy prices causes much of the inflation elsewhere, which is then reflected by the CPI.
Also notice, 2022 is when the data-center and AI boom started, that too fits the premise of their culpability.
But then we live in a bizarre world where inflation is good, and the price of everything rising together is just wholesome and natural.
And while it's certainly an unpopular concept to present, electricity right now is a whole lot cheaper (on average, in the US) when viewed through an inflation-tinted lens than it has been at many times in the past.
I find that FRED (from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) is pretty useful for visualizing that kind of data, in part because it shows folks exactly what went into producing the chart. The citations and any maths are all included for inspection (see the "Edit Graph" link). It's hard to use FRED to present information disingenuously: It simply is what it is.
(wherein: It can be plainly seen that the 1980s were very dark times indeed, and the first ~half of the 1990s weren't so great either. We're currently somewhere around turn-of-the-millennia in terms of how much our electric bill hurts compared to how much everything else hurts.
(And none of this should be construed to mean that I'm ecstatic about paying my power bill or something. Everything is fuckin' expensive these days -- including electricity.))
That statement seems to be upside-down. Energy factors into the cost of almost every other product, that is, the rise of energy prices causes much of the inflation elsewhere, which is then reflected by the CPI.
Also notice, 2022 is when the data-center and AI boom started, that too fits the premise of their culpability.
But then we live in a bizarre world where inflation is good, and the price of everything rising together is just wholesome and natural.