Major US technology companies have signed a White House pledge committing to cover the energy costs associated with powering their artificial intelligence data centers, a move the Trump administration says will help prevent higher electricity bills for consumers.
The non-binding “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” was signed Wednesday by Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI. Under the pledge, the companies agreed to “build, bring or buy” the energy required to construct and operate their data centers, ensuring those costs are not passed on to consumers.
Speaking at a roundtable with government officials and representatives from major tech firms, Donald Trump said data centers require improved public perception.
“People think that if a data center is built, their electricity prices will go up,” Trump said. “That’s not happening. It’s not going to happen — and in places where it did happen before, it won’t happen anymore.”
Data centers have been rapidly expanding across the United States amid the surge in AI development. According to a February report from the Harvard Kennedy School, the energy-intensive technology is already exceeding available power capacity in some regions of the country.
The report noted that data centers could account for as much as 12% of total US electricity consumption by 2028. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows residential energy prices rose 6% in 2025 and are projected to keep increasing through 2027 and 2028.
Voters concerned about energy costs ahead of midterms
Donald Trump announced the pledge during his State of the Union address, as concerns over rising living costs and the strain AI data centers may place on the energy grid grow ahead of the November midterm elections.
Trump noted that some data center projects had previously been canceled after facing opposition from local communities worried about potential impacts on electricity prices.
“Some centers were rejected by communities for that reason,” he said, adding that he believes the situation will soon reverse.
Under the pledge, participating companies agreed to fund all new power infrastructure required to support their data centers. They also committed to covering the costs of bringing new energy capacity online, regardless of whether the power is fully utilized.
In addition, the companies pledged to prioritize local hiring, offer workforce training programs and make backup generators available to support the power grid during shortages.
However, it remains unclear how these commitments will be enforced, and the White House has not detailed how it plans to ensure companies adhere to the pledge.
