US tech giants sign White House pledge to cover their own electricity costs for AI data centers.

At a White House roundtable meeting, US President Trump announced that Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI have signed a non-binding agreement called the "Rate Taxpayer Protection Pledge," promising to "build, import, or purchase" the electricity needed for their data centers themselves, without passing the costs on to consumers. Trump stated that data centers "need some public relations help," as the public is concerned that data center construction will drive up electricity prices, but he claimed this would not happen. Previously, a report released in February by the Harvard Kennedy School indicated that the electricity demand of AI data centers in some areas has already exceeded existing supply capacity, and that data center electricity consumption could account for 12% of total US electricity consumption by 2028. Data from the US Energy Information Administration shows that residential electricity prices will rise by 6% in 2025 and are projected to continue rising through 2027 and 2028. The pledge requires companies to pay for all new power infrastructure needed for their data centers, regardless of whether it is used, and to commit to local hiring, providing skills training, and opening up backup generators to the grid. This pledge was announced ahead of the November midterm elections, and it remains unclear how the White House will ensure that companies fulfill their commitments.