Trump orders Big Tech to generate its own power for AI data centers — reveals new 'ratepayer protection pledge' to curb rising electricity prices in the US

Source: Tom’s Hardware

Image credit: Getty / Andrew Harnik

Trump’s “Ratepayer Protection Pledge”

At yesterday’s State of the Union address, President Trump highlighted the surge in power costs driven by hyper‑scale AI buildouts and announced a new ratepayer protection pledge. Under the pledge, big‑tech companies would be required to build their own power plants for data centers, generating and supplying electricity for AI workloads rather than relying on the public grid.

Strain on the U.S. Power Grid

Big‑tech data centers have been plugging directly into the grid, buying electricity conventionally. This has stretched the grid thin, leading to higher local electricity prices for other consumers.

“We have an old grid. It could never handle the kind of numbers, the amount of electricity that’s needed,” Trump said.

A recent report indicated that energy prices have already risen by up to 36% in some states, with expectations of further increases.

Data Center Power Consumption

Data centers are projected to account for 12% of total U.S. power consumption by 2028, up from just 4% in 2018. This growth forces average households to pay more for the same electricity usage, while the corporations driving the surge remain relatively insulated from price hikes.

Image credit: Getty / Bloomberg