President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with leaders of major technology companies, including Google, Meta and OpenAI, to formalize a new commitment aimed at shielding consumers from rising electricity costs linked to the rapid growth of power-hungry data centers.
According to the White House, the “Ratepayer Protection Pledge,” first outlined by Trump during his State of the Union address, would require participating tech firms to take steps to ensure that the expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure does not result in higher utility bills for households and small businesses.
“President Trump’s ratepayer protection pledge will deliver more affordable, reliable, and secure energy for the American people and help stop the rising electricity prices that started during the previous administration,” as per Energy Secretary Chris Wright in a statement.
Tech giants including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI and Amazon are expected to sign on to the pledge, a White House official confirmed.
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The move comes months before the November midterm elections, at a time when voters are increasingly worried about rising energy bills and the growing pressure that large-scale data centers are placing on the nation’s power grids.
According to two people familiar with the discussions, the commitments will likely require companies to secure or directly develop electricity supplies for their data centers. That could mean investing in new power plants or expanding the output of existing facilities to meet surging demand.
People familiar with the plan said the pledge is also expected to require major technology companies to help fund upgrades to power transmission systems and negotiate special electricity rate agreements with local utilities.
Among those anticipated at the White House are some of the biggest players in the tech industry, companies that are pouring billions of dollars into expanding AI computing capacity, even as those facilities consume enormous amounts of electricity.
Trump has repeatedly called on these firms to develop or lock in dedicated power sources for their operations instead of depending entirely on regional grids. The push reflects a broader attempt to stay competitive in advanced technology while also addressing political and economic anxieties around rising energy costs.
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Still, questions remain about how quickly additional electricity supply can realistically come online. Jon Gordon, a director at Advanced Energy United, said it is uncertain whether the initiative will deliver new power capacity fast enough to significantly relieve stress on existing grids.
Gordon said the challenge is partly rooted in Trump’s emphasis on expanding natural gas and other fossil fuel based power generation for data centers, rather than leaning more heavily on sources such as solar and wind that can typically be deployed more quickly.
“The real problem is the inability to get generation online fast enough to meet the data center demand,” as per Gordon. “Hyperscalers paying for the generation doesn’t get it online any faster.”
Both supporters and critics are expected to scrutinize the pledge to see whether it leads to firm, measurable commitments or ends up being largely symbolic. Lawmakers and consumer advocates have already pressed for stronger safeguards to ensure that the rapid build-out of data centers does not translate into higher utility bills for ordinary households.