Trump Expands AI Data Center Pledge in Bid to Ease Power Costs

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(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump on Thursday welcomed fresh commitments from power utilities and data center developers to put technology companies on the hook to pay for the electricity they need to drive energy-hungry artificial-intelligence systems. 

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“Data centers and AI are dramatically increasing the demand for electricity. It’s only fair that the cost of building the new infrastructure required to meet this demand should be borne by the corporations themselves, not by the American consumers,” Trump said at an event to tout new participants in his “Ratepayer Protection Pledge,” a nonbinding initiative unveiled earlier this year.

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The AI industry’s growth — and the proliferation of data centers essential to it — have surged demand for power and higher electricity prices nationwide.

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That has stoked growing political opposition to building out the infrastructure that underpins AI, including bans on constructing new data centers in some areas of the US. It’s also feeding growing consumer worry about climbing power bills ahead of the November midterm elections, which are set to hinge on voter concerns about the economy.

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“Under this groundbreaking plan, America’s largest tech companies have formally committed to fund or build all energy infrastructure required to meet the demand they are placing on the grid,” Trump said. “And we’re giving them the right to build their own power plants.”

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Scores of governors, legislators, power utilities and data center developers have now signed on to Trump’s pledge, joining Amazon.com Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and four other technology companies that backed it earlier this year. The additions mean the pledge now covers 80% of the power delivered to US homes and businesses, a White House official said.

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Trump said that since he introduced the plan more than 220 utilities, tech companies, state governments and other partners had signed the ratepayer protection pledge.

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Under the pledge, they are vowing that the companies building and using data centers will pay above and beyond normal rates — effectively funding generation and grid upgrades — to ensure the costs aren’t passed on to households.

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While there is nothing binding the companies to their commitment — and other efforts to arrest electric price increases have failed to stymie them — the action underscores how the nation’s data center buildout is driving blowback, with consequences reaching from corporate boardrooms to Washington. 

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While Trump vowed during the 2024 election to slash electricity bills in half, power costs have instead gone up — a rise that Democrats have exploited on the campaign trail. Trump has emphasized it’s essential for national security and economic growth that the US beat China and win a global artificial intelligence race. He said Thursday he would discuss AI with Xi Jinping when the Chinese president visits in September.