Microsoft pledges to cover electricity costs for US data centers

Businessinsider reports Microsoft pledged to cover the electricity costs of its rapidly growing US data-center fleet, President and vice chair Brad Smith said in a speech on Tuesday that the company will "pay utility rates that are high enough to cover our electricity costs." President Trump endorsed the plan in a post on Truth Social.

Microsoft laid out a four-part plan in a blog post this week: ask utilities and regulators to set rates that cover data-center costs, collaborate with utilities to fund new infrastructure, seek greater data-center efficiency, and advocate for affordable, reliable power at the state and federal levels.

The pledge comes as AI is driving a surge in power demand and household electric bills are rising, and as utilities, data-center customers, and consumer advocates dispute who will pay for new infrastructure. Consumer advocates said they are cautiously optimistic but want more detail; Julie Bolthouse called the proposals "only rough concepts that don't get at the root of the problem, which is the scale and speed at which the industry is moving." Dominion Energy said it is in contract talks for 47 gigawatts of new demand — double its current peak load.

Key Topics

Tech, Microsoft, Brad Smith, Donald Trump, Data Centers, Dominion Energy