Trump Demands Tech Titans Shoulder AI's Grid Expansion Costs
In a significant move to address mounting public concern, the White House has formally requested that major US technology corporations commit to voluntary agreements ensuring the explosive growth of artificial intelligence does not drive up electricity bills for American households. President Donald Trump has personally approached industry behemoths including Microsoft and Alphabet, urging them to sign non-binding pledges that would require them to "pay their own way" as they aggressively expand data centre infrastructure to support AI development.
The Core Proposal: Tech-Funded Grid Upgrades
The central element of the proposed compact demands that hyper-scale data centre operators cover 100 per cent of the costs associated with new power generation and grid upgrades necessary for their facilities. Additionally, these firms would be asked to enter into long-term electricity contracts, providing a financial buffer to ensure other consumers are not left vulnerable if projected demand fails to materialise or if projects ultimately collapse. This initiative directly targets growing anxiety that AI's voracious energy appetite, often referred to as 'braggawatts', could place intolerable strain on an already overburdened national grid.
Federal energy projections paint a stark picture, estimating that data centre electricity demand could triple between 2025 and 2028. This surge threatens to impose massive additional pressure on creaking regional grids. Compounding the issue, US electricity prices have in many regions soared faster than overall inflation, wholesale power costs are climbing steadily, and consumer energy bills have become a hot-button political issue ahead of the November midterm elections.
A Political Promise Under Pressure
President Trump campaigned on a bold pledge to halve electricity prices within eighteen months of taking office. However, residential power costs have continued their upward trajectory. In a January post on Truth Social, the President acknowledged that data centres are "key" to the AI build-out but insisted that "the big technology companies who build them must pay their own way." The proposed voluntary agreement, while lacking legal force, is seen by administration officials as a tool to introduce a degree of corporate accountability and demonstrate to voters that the government is actively working to prevent AI infrastructure from exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis.
Broader Community and Environmental Commitments
Beyond the critical issue of electricity pricing, the draft principles circulating earlier this month outline further expectations for data centre developers. These include ensuring new sites are "water positive," mitigating noise and traffic disruption, and supporting local education and community initiatives. These requests arrive as several jurisdictions, including Atlanta and New Orleans, have imposed restrictions on new data centre construction. Reports indicate that in January alone, more than two dozen projects faced delays or were blocked due to community opposition.
Microsoft has publicly stated it will cover the cost of additional grid infrastructure linked to its data centre plans. Similarly, AI firm Anthropic recently asserted that companies in the sector "shouldn't leave American ratepayers to pick up the tab." Conversely, some operators have pushed back, arguing they already pay the full cost of their energy consumption and that well-designed tariff structures are sufficient to protect consumers.
Parallel Concerns in the United Kingdom
The issue is not confined to the United States. In the UK, regulator Ofgem has launched a review of grid connection queues after being inundated with more than 50 gigawatts of requests linked to data centre projects—a figure that exceeds Britain's recent peak daily electricity demand. The regulator warned that this deluge of large-scale applications risks delaying other critical national energy projects.
City AM analysis revealed that data centre planning applications in the UK reached an all-time high in 2025, as investors scrambled to secure a position in the burgeoning AI market. The investigation of over 300 local authority planning databases showed that more than 60 separate applications for new data centre construction were filed in England and Wales throughout the year, representing a staggering 63 per cent increase compared to 2024.
