Trump expands a voluntary pledge to protect consumers from high utility bills from AI data centers - ABC News
President Donald Trump announced an expanded voluntary pledge, joined by governors and electricity companies, to protect consumers from higher utility bills caused by data centers. The initiative seeks to address public concerns over increasing energy demands. Several states are enacting or considering legislation to mandate that data centers cover associated utility costs.
President Donald Trump announced an expansion of a voluntary pledge, inviting governors and electricity companies to join efforts to protect U.S. consumers from rising utility bills attributed to the growing number of AI data centers. The announcement was made at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., with Energy Secretary Chris Wright in attendance. This initiative follows an initial commitment in March by leading AI and tech companies, but public and political concern persists regarding data centers' impact on electricity, water, and land resources.
The President urged communities to embrace data center development, promising economic benefits and a surplus of power that would lead to lower electricity prices, although the effectiveness of the nonbinding pledge in achieving genuine savings remains uncertain amidst increasing demand. The White House confirmed 23 governors and 187 companies, including 55 utilities and 27 data center developers, have signed. Prominent signatories among data center developers and tech companies include Equinix, Digital Realty, Prologis, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI, and Amazon.
Public opposition to data centers has become a bipartisan issue, driven by worries over environmental impact, increased living costs, and potential job displacement by AI. In response to these concerns, New York Governor Kathy Hochul enacted a one-year ban on large server warehouse construction, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law preventing utilities from passing data center energy costs to consumers. State legislatures and utility commissions are increasingly moving to require data centers to bear the full cost of their electricity demands and grid upgrades. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has also approved a bipartisan bill to formalize such requirements. The White House has also expressed concerns about PJM Interconnection's ability to ensure adequate electricity supplies in its 13-state region.