Big Tech pledges to cover AI data centre energy costs

Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and "several artificial intelligence companies" signed a pledge at the White House yesterday, dubbed the "Ratepayer Protection Pledge," to pay for the cost of powering their data centres. The White House statement quoted President Trump as saying he is "calling on the leading United States hyperscalers and AI companies to build, bring, or buy all of the energy needed for building and operating data centers, paying the full cost of their energy and infrastructure, no matter what." It added that this would let companies get the electricity they need "all without driving up electricity costs for consumers." The pledge includes companies paying rates even if they do not actually use the power, and Meta said, "We pay the full costs of our data centers’ energy and water use so they aren’t passed on to consumers, and fund new and upgraded infrastructure." Oracle, xAI and OpenAI were reported to have attended, though the White House release did not include a full list.

United States, Washington, D.C.

big tech, data centres, energy costs, white house, president trump, ratepayer pledge, hyperscalers, electricity rates, meta, openai