Administration to work with states to limit A.I.-driven rises in electricity bills

The Trump administration announced on Friday that it would work with states to ensure the nationwide artificial intelligence race does not drive up electricity costs for millions of Americans. Federal officials said they would push PJM, the largest grid operator, to strike deals with top technology companies so the bill for boosting the nation’s power supply falls on firms such as Facebook, Google and OpenAI rather than individual ratepayers.

The demand for electricity and prices have risen as Silicon Valley invests billions in power‑hungry data centers; the Energy Information Administration said the average electricity bill jumped 5 percent in October compared with the same month a year earlier. The White House directive appeared to hinge on participation by technology giants and PJM, which serves all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia.

Jeff Shields, a spokesman for PJM, said the operator was reviewing the administration’s plans and that it was not invited to an event Friday at the White House. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the goal was to ensure the government was “powering the Mid‑Atlantic and part of the Midwest’s future without charging its citizens a cent.” Governors Wes Moore, Josh Shapiro, Mike DeWine and Glenn Youngkin endorsed the effort.

Experts cautioned the steps were unlikely to lower prices quickly.

Key Topics

Politics, Trump Administration, Pjm, Data Centers, Openai, Google