Trump seeks vows from tech executives to cover data centre costs

[WASHINGTON] White House officials are asking technology companies to pledge that their data centres won’t increase electricity prices and cause other burdens for consumers, according to two sources familiar with the initiative.

The effort includes pressing technology executives to sign non-binding compacts vowing that their companies would take on the cost of building the necessary infrastructure to support their data centre use, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss a plan that is not yet public.

Officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration have been talking with Microsoft, Alphabet and other companies about signing the pledges, the sources said. White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment lodged after normal business hours on Monday evening.

The effort attempts to address political and public relations problems tied to the buildout of data centres nationwide as technology companies demand more computing power for artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.

Tech companies are encountering a growing grassroots backlash with activist groups mobilising to fight the construction of energy-hungry data centres in some regions, citing their demands on local infrastructure, available water and power supplies. A number of jurisdictions, including Atlanta and New Orleans, have imposed restrictions on constructing new centres.

The issues also pose a political risk for Trump before November’s midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans retain control of Congress. Cost-of-living concerns loom large for voters, and while Trump has touted falling prices for petrol, power costs have climbed. Those increases have been fed by demand from industrial operations, data centres and increased electrification of home heating, cooking and transportation.

The Wall Street Journal on Monday reported Trump could highlight the pledges during his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Politico previously reported on elements of the initiative.

While the promises would not have the force of law, administration officials believe the formal, public pledges could bring accountability and offer some assurance to consumers worried that the rapid development of AI envisioned by Trump could lead to environmental damage and higher costs.

Although Trump vowed on the 2024 campaign trail he’d cut electricity prices in half within 18 months of taking office, consumers’ power bills have instead gone up, climbing well above the pace of overall inflation.

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Trump previewed the move in a January social media post, insisting that while data centres “are key” to the AI boom, the “big Technology Companies who build them must ‘pay their own way’”.

The Trump administration is also pressing the nation’s largest power grid to hold an emergency auction allowing tech companies to bid for long-term electricity supplies. BLOOMBERG