Trump's AI pledge: 200 utilities promise to shield consumers from energy costs

In response to growing backlash over AI data centers driving up electricity costs, nearly 200 US utility companies and data center developers have signed President Donald Trump's 'rate payer protection pledge.' The Wall Street Journal reports the new signatories include major names like NextEra Energy, Duke Energy, Equinix, and Digital Realty, joining earlier tech signatories Google, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, OpenAI, Amazon, and xAI. An unnamed White House official said the pledge now covers about 80% of all power delivered to homes and businesses across the US. The pledge was introduced in March with vague commitments for AI providers to bear the costs of new infrastructure for training and running AI models. Trump acknowledged during the announcement that tech companies 'need some PR help' to address backlash.

Despite the expanded signatories, the pledge has done little to calm public and bipartisan concerns. Enforcement remains a major challenge because energy prices are typically set by state regulators and electricity traders, not the federal government. The pledge is entirely voluntary and carries no penalty for non-compliance — making it effectively a non-binding promise. Some data center projects have already been downsized or blocked due to local opposition, 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. Critics argue the pledge is a political gesture that fails to address systemic issues in energy pricing and infrastructure planning, leaving ratepayers vulnerable to rising bills as AI expansion accelerates.