President Donald Trump is making all technology companies betting big on AI make a promise to Americans. Trump administration wants Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and all the other technology companies planning to build or invest in data centers to commit that Americans will not have to pay for their rising energy consumption. According to a report by Bloomberg, Trump is set to highlight his administration’s efforts to ensure that technology companies’ buildout of energy-hungry data centers won’t raise electricity prices and cause other burdens for consumers.As part of the effort, Trump administration officials have reportedly been pressing executives of technology companies to sign non-binding compacts vowing their companies would cover the cost of power supplies and other necessary infrastructure to support their data center use. The report quotes people familiar with the matter. Trump administration officials have been talking with Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc. and other companies about signing the pledgesThe initiative is said to mark the latest step in the administration’s push to address increasing electricity prices and ensure that the development of AI and data centers that support the industry do not cause huge spikes in power bills. While these promises from technology wouldn’t have the force of law, government officials believe that the formal, public pledges could bring accountability and offer some assurance to consumers worried that the rapid development of AI may lead to environmental damage and higher utility costs for them.This initiative comes after, in January, Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, “I never want Americans to pay higher Electricity bills because of Data Centers.” “We are the ‘HOTTEST’ Country in the World, and Number One in AI. Data Centers are key to that boom, and keeping Americans FREE and SECURE but, the big Technology Companies who build them must ‘pay their own way,’” Trump added.

Law makers across US mount pressure on companies building data centers

Big Tech’s data center build-out is facing mounting resistance from lawmakers. Earlier this month, Senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal introduced the first bipartisan bill in Congress aimed at preventing data center power usage from spiking consumers’ electric bills. The legislation, dubbed the “Guaranteeing Rate Insulation” or “GRID” Act, seeks to guarantee two things: No data-center related price increases for consumers’ utility bills, as well as ensuring first priority for grid access to everyday electric users. The bill also seeks to make new data center operators power their structures via off-grid sources, with a 10-year off-ramp for existing data centers.“American families should not have to shoulder the burden of the rising electricity costs produced by data centers in Missouri and across the country,” Hawley, R-Mo., said in a statement. “This is unacceptable.”A week earlier, on February 6, New York became the sixth state to have its legislators propose a bill to pause data center construction within state lines. This legislation would effectively shut out New York as a potential site for new data centers if it gets passed. Similarly, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a potential 2028 presidential contender, has announced a set of State data center guidelines recently and called on his legislature to pass them into law. Shapiro reportedly plans to call on data center developers to commit to pay for their own power, hire locally, be transparent with Pennsylvania communities and adhere to high water-conservation standards. .