SerpApi.Org
WASHINGTON—The nation’s largest utilities and developers of data centers have signed on to President Trump’s pledge to pay more for the electricity needed to run artificial-intelligence models, hoping to quell a backlash that has fueled protests and political proposals to halt the AI boom.
NextEra Energy, Duke Energy, Equinix and Digital Realty are among the nearly 200 entities committing to the president’s promise aimed at ensuring AI’s energy consumption doesn’t push up electric bills for consumers across the U.S., according to a White House list of signatories obtained by The Wall Street Journal. Trump is expected to announce the new commitments at a Thursday event at the Environmental Protection Agency, a White House official said. Republican governors including Louisiana’s Jeff Landry and Georgia’s Brian Kemp also signed the pledge and are expected to attend.
The new commitments mean that signatories now account for some 80% of all power delivered to U.S. homes and businesses, the official said.
The pledges could prove difficult to enforce because power prices are often decided by state regulators and electricity buyers and sellers, but they represent the strongest effort by the White House and private sector to fight anger about AI.
Rising electricity prices and opposition to new data centers have driven concerns among industry executives that more of the facilities that power models will have to move overseas, potentially challenging an engine of the economy. Chinese AI-model developers recently released tools that impressed Western investors and industry analysts, adding to an already frenetic industry competition.
“The president’s bold action is turning data centers into engines of growth for local communities, while cementing America’s dominance in the global AI race,” said White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers in a written statement.
Last week, Trump criticized New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive order barring the construction of data centers for a year until regulatory and environmental frameworks are created. Trump called the order a “terrible decision” and said the taxes and jobs from data centers “amount to LIQUID GOLD.”
Many other states and towns have proposed similar moratoriums, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) has introduced a bill that would impose a federal data-center ban. The success of progressive Democrats in recent primaries is fueling fears among tech executives of increased regulation and actions targeting the AI industry.
Many consumers now oppose the construction of data centers in their communities and support increased government regulation of AI.
Trump has increased the federal government’s oversight of the industry but still pledged to avoid regulations that hinder the deployment of models. The utilities’ electricity promise includes commitments to pay for grid upgrades and infrastructure needed to support data centers, a crucial challenge facing ratepayers around the U.S. Other notable utility signatories include Southern Co. and American Electric Power.
In March, tech executives from OpenAI, Amazon.com, Microsoft, Google, Meta Platforms, Oracle and Elon Musk’s xAI, recently acquired by SpaceX, signed the pledge, which Trump introduced in his State of the Union address early this year. Other commitments include negotiating separate rate structures with utilities and states and coordinating with grid operators to prevent blackouts and power shortages.
Utilities and AI-industry participants have said an important question is whether promises from profitable tech giants will ripple through the AI ecosystem to partners operating on the ground.
Another challenge for the effort is reaching upset consumers and showing them the pledges are having an impact, AI analysts have said. Tech companies and utilities have said their commitments in states from Louisiana to Indiana will save consumers billions of dollars and tout the tax dollars data centers generate.
Write to Meridith McGraw at [email protected] and Amrith Ramkumar at [email protected]
