Several major technology companies have agreed to cover the energy costs of their data centers under a new pledge announced by the White House.
President Donald Trump said companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI signed the “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” on March 4.
The pledge requires companies building large data centers to pay the full cost of the electricity they use, along with any grid upgrades needed to support those facilities.
Under the agreement, the companies will build, bring, or buy new power generation resources to meet the growing electricity demand created by artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
The companies also agreed to negotiate separate rate structures with utilities and state governments and pay those rates even if the power they contract for is not used.
The White House said the policy aims to prevent electricity price increases for households as demand for energy rises with the rapid expansion of AI data centers.
The agreement also calls for companies to fund infrastructure upgrades needed to deliver power to data centers so those costs are not passed to residential ratepayers.
Officials said companies will also coordinate with grid operators to make backup generation available during emergencies to help prevent blackouts.
The pledge includes commitments to hire workers locally and create training programs in communities where new data centers are built.
The White House said the initiative is part of a broader effort to expand domestic energy production and strengthen the electric grid while supporting the growth of artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States.
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