Tech deal on data centres to lower power prices: Trump
US President Donald Trump has invited technology companies to the White House to pledge to improve their own energy production as he seeks to ease tensions over the cost of electricity used by data centers to develop artificial intelligence.
“They need help with public relations because people think if a data center goes in there, electricity prices are going to go up,” Trump said. “This will not happen”.
The pledge to “protect taxpayers” put forward by the president comes as affordability has become a top concern for an American public wary of the possibility that artificial intelligence could lead to higher electricity bills.
Communities across the country have faced backlash against data centers due to fears about rising electricity prices and concerns about pollution and water consumption.
According to the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index, electricity prices increased by 6.3 percent last year.
The president emphasized that he understands that energy demand will triple by 2035, largely thanks to artificial intelligence, which means the United States must significantly increase power plant construction.
Trump also tried to cancel wind energy projects while highlighting coal as an energy source that contributes to climate change.
Companies that made the pledge included Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI and Amazon.
Under the terms of the commitment, the companies agree to build or purchase new power generation sources for their data centers and cover the costs of infrastructure upgrades.
Companies can also sell excess energy production to utilities for public consumption, ensuring that expenses are not passed on to consumers, in addition to negotiating separate tariff structures with utilities and states.
They also promise to make it possible to create backups to prevent outages in emergency situations and to hire locally to set up data centers.
Although Trump said the commitment would force tech companies to produce their own electricity, experts said the deal probably wouldn’t be enforceable at the federal level.
Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen Action, an environmental group, said the voluntary agreement has no enforcement mechanism and no way for taxpayers to verify whether tech companies are keeping their promises.
“Now that energy prices are skyrocketing due to corporate polluter-first policies, Trump is trying to cover up his mistakes with a photo op,” he said.
But the Edison Electric Institute, one of the energy industry’s leading lobbying groups, said taxpayers’ commitment would help ensure data centers pay their fair share even when they use massive amounts of electricity.
“We appreciate President Trump’s focus on ensuring our nation can foster innovation while also protecting Americans who need affordable, reliable energy,” said Drew Maloney, the group’s president and CEO.
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