U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with leaders from Google, Meta, and OpenAI on Wednesday to formalise a pledge aimed at protecting consumers from high cost of electricity bills resulting from expanding data centres.
The White House said the “Ratepayer Protection Pledge,” first announced in Trump’s State of the Union Address, will see tech firms commit to measures ensuring that growth in AI infrastructure does not increase utility expenses for households and small businesses.
Sources familiar with the plan said the pledge may include commitments from companies to pay for upgrades to power delivery systems and to negotiate special electricity rates with utilities.
These tech firms are investing billions in AI computing capacity, which consumes large amounts of electricity.
Trump has urged companies to build or secure dedicated power capacity instead of relying solely on regional grids. This is intended to balance technological competitiveness with concerns over energy costs.
Jon Gordon, director at Advanced Energy United, warned that the plan might not ease stress on electricity grids quickly. “The real problem is the inability to get generation online fast enough to meet the data centre demand,” he said. “Hyperscalers paying for the generation doesn’t get it online any faster.”
Lawmakers and consumer groups have called for stronger protections to prevent utility bill increases linked to data centre build-outs.
