Business owners push new leaders on insurance, AI data centers and energy bills

Business leaders tied to the American Sustainable Business Network are urging incoming state and federal officials to address insurance and electricity costs after an election shaped by affordability. The group says higher premiums, utility bills and data center expansion are already squeezing small businesses in California, Michigan and Ohio.

Why it matters: - Small businesses say rising insurance and energy costs are cutting into hiring, investment and day-to-day survival. - The political opening is immediate: affordability dominated the 2026 midterms, and incoming leaders are under pressure to act on costs voters said they care about most. - Business owners in California, Michigan and Ohio are being positioned as messengers to the new Congress and state officials on what affordability looks like on Main Street.

What happened: - Two dozen business owners working with the American Sustainable Business Network are pressing new state and national leaders to focus first on insurance and energy costs. - ASBN collected written statements and short videos over the past three months from business owners describing rising premiums in California and rising energy bills in Michigan and Ohio. - The organization says the business leaders are available for interviews about affordability and the cost of living. - Voters made affordability and the cost of living the defining issue of the 2026 midterm elections. - CNN exit polling found about nine in 10 voters said the cost of living was a crucial or major factor in their vote. - NBC News exit polling found 86% of voters were concerned about utility costs and 76% opposed new data center construction in their communities.

The details: - In California, the race for insurance commissioner remained too close to call Thursday between Jane Kim and Ben Allen as votes were still being counted. - Whoever wins inherits a market where businesses face fewer statutory caps on rate increases and weaker non-renewal protections than residential policyholders. - Twenty business leaders spoke out this fall about California’s insurance market, citing premium spikes, non-renewals and the diversion of money from hiring. - Veejay C. Patell, founder and CEO of beyondGREEN biotech, said workers’ compensation and liability premiums have risen year after year in Santa Ana without changes in operations or claims history. - Lisa Puckett, founder and chief compliance officer of BayArea Compliance and founding executive director of NETZERO360 Sustainable Waste Solutions, said the business spends $8,800 a month on insurance and that premium increases of 7% to 24% each year could instead support two new employees. - Amberjae Freeman, CEO of Etho Capital, said building codes that reward resilience and premiums that reflect real risk would help insurers stay in the market. - In Michigan and Ohio, eight business owners described electricity costs that are harder to predict and harder to pass on to customers. - Several business owners raised concerns about who should pay for grid upgrades tied to new data centers. - Ohio voters faced 21 local ballot measures related to data centers this year, including proposed bans in 13 municipalities. - Ohio voters passed bans and restrictions on data centers in 18 municipalities, the most of any state in the election. - Khadija Wallace, founder and CEO of Joyful Treats Catering in Michigan, said communities that oppose data centers could still be stuck paying the energy costs. - Anne Chambers, principal of 17 WAYS in Ohio, said backup power auction costs rose from $29 two years ago to $335 this year. - Barry Cik, founder and technical director of Naturepedic, said rising energy costs can force price increases. - ASBN’s Pennsylvania research found utilities approved roughly $492 million in data center transmission connection costs in 2024, and those costs are recovered through ratepayers’ electric bills. - Mike Green, ASBN’s senior policy advisor for climate and energy, said large new users such as data centers should pay their fair share and small businesses should get help reducing their own energy use.

Between the lines: - The message is not just about two cost categories. It is about who pays when private business growth shifts infrastructure and risk costs onto smaller firms and households. - The data center fight is becoming a local political issue, not only a technology or energy issue. - Insurance is emerging as an economic development issue in California, where coverage gaps and premium increases can shape whether manufacturers stay and expand.

What's next: - ASBN says it will bring these business owners’ stories to the new Congress and state leaders in the months ahead. - The group is asking U.S. House and Senate leadership to back an open letter on affordable energy for businesses. - Business leaders in California, Michigan and Ohio remain available for interviews as lawmakers and regulators begin work on insurance, grid costs and data center oversight. - ASBN says more business leaders are available by request.

The bottom line: - After an election driven by affordability, small business owners want new leaders to treat insurance and energy bills as immediate policy problems, not background noise.