President Donald Trump summoned executives from Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, OpenAI and xAI to the White House to sign a nonbinding pledge to supply or pay for power for their AI data centers, aiming to blunt voter anger over rising electric bills ahead of the midterms. The move underscores the administration’s bet that AI will drive growth and bolster national security, even as Democrats attack Republicans over the cost of living and local opposition to data centers intensifies. Residential electricity prices rose 6% in 2025, with Goldman Sachs forecasting another 6% increase through 2026 and 3% in 2028 as data center demand outpaces supply. Turning the pledge into policy faces steep hurdles: state utility commissions control most rules on new generation, while FERC’s authority largely covers interconnection and transmission, not building power plants. Grid operator PJM has seen costs tied to data centers surge, with watchdog Monitoring Analytics attributing $23 billion in supply costs to the sector. Democrats called the pledge inadequate, while some governors floated moratoriums or new regulations, sharpening political risks for the industry and the White House.
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