Tech giants sign White House pledge to power their own AI data centers

Leaders from Google, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, OpenAI, Amazon, and xAI signed Trump's "Ratepayer Protection Pledge" at the White House, committing to generate or pay for all power their AI data centers need, cover infrastructure upgrades, negotiate separate utility rates, and provide backup power to local grids. The pledge responds to bipartisan concerns that data center expansion will raise electricity bills for consumers. "They're going to be making their own electricity. They're not going to be taking from the grid," Trump said. The move follows his State of the Union claims about AI infrastructure and comes as communities increasingly reject data center proposals over energy cost fears.

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