Words are cheap and the pledge lacks enforcement mechanisms.
In the face of backlash to concerns the AI boom will increase consumer electricity bills, the largest utility companies and data center developers in the US are now promising to do something about it. The Wall Street Journal reports that nearly 200 organizations have signed President Donald Trump’s “rate payer protection pledge” that’s meant to safeguard average citizens from footing the AI bill.
Trump is expected to announce the new signatories on Thursday, which include NextEra Energy, Duke Energy, Equinix, and Digital Realty, according to a list obtained by The WSJ. An unnamed White House official told the publication that those who have committed to the pledge now account for about 80 percent of all power delivered to homes and businesses across the US.
The rate protection pledge was introduced in March, and includes several vague commitments for AI providers to front the costs of new infrastructure required to train and run generative AI models. It was signed by leaders from Google, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, OpenAI, Amazon, and xAI upon announcement, with Trump saying during the event that tech companies “need some PR help” to quell backlash around data center projects and rising electricity rates.
Now, energy companies have joined the effort to try and mitigate some of the ire, but the pledge has done little to soothe public and bipartisan concerns so far. Some data center projects have been downsized or blocked in response to the backlash, and the largest US electrical grid operator PJM is now expected to add $6.3 billion in additional costs for consumers across 13 states due to data center demand.
Enforcing the pledge will be a challenge as energy prices are typically set by state regulators and electricity traders, not the federal government. The pledge is also voluntary and carries no penalty for non-compliance, making this little more than a pinky promise.