President's power agreement with tech leaders unlikely to apply to local data center

A recently signed national "Ratepayer Protection Pledge," which saw leaders of U.S. technology companies, including Google, agree with President Donald Trump to cover the full cost of powering their data centers, including building their own power plants, is not expected to apply to Google's data center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The agreement came too late to influence the existing power deal for the local data center. Google had previously established an agreement with Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) in August 2025 to supply power to its Fort Wayne campus. Under this custom demand response structure, Google committed to performing non-urgent tasks during off-peak hours, thereby reducing strain on the electric grid during times of high energy demand. This arrangement, announced jointly by I&M and Google, is intended to help the utility meet energy needs for all customers and potentially lower overall energy costs. Steve Baker, president and chief operating officer of I&M, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, emphasizing the importance of collaborating with large load customers like Google to manage generation and transmission resources effectively. He highlighted Google's load flexibility as a valuable tool for meeting future energy needs and ensuring grid stability.