A 75.5% spike in power costs across the country’s largest electricity region. A $2 billion grid upgrade bill dropped on Maryland residents — for AI data centers located in other states. These are the real numbers behind AI’s growing appetite for electricity, according to PJM Interconnection’s independent market monitor, as reported by Tom’s Hardware. The White House response? A voluntary pledge that now carries over 220 signatories promising your bill won’t go up.
The Expansion, By the Numbers
Twenty-three Republican governors, major utilities, and data center developers all signed on in July, according to USA Today.
The original March pledge brought Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, OpenAI, and xAI to the table. The July expansion added NextEra Energy, Duke Energy, American Electric Power, Southern Co., PG&E, and developers like Equinix and Digital Realty, according to Associated Press reporting. The White House claims this coalition now covers power delivery to 263 million Americans. The core promise: data center operators will “build, bring, or buy” every kilowatt they need.
What signatories are reportedly committing to:
- Paying the full cost of new generation and grid infrastructure their facilities require
- Accepting higher rate structures than residential customers
- Freezing consumer electric rates for at least five years in some deals
- Funding emergency wholesale electricity auctions projected to generate over $15 billion for new generation capacity
“Big Tech companies are committing to fully cover the cost of increased electricity production required for AI data centers — and that would mean prices for American communities will not go up, but in many cases, will actually come down,” Trump stated at the signing, according to the White House release.
Where Real Protections Are Actually Being Built
Oregon’s enforceable law has already shifted costs away from households; the federal pledge hasn’t moved the needle.
Harvard’s Ari Peskoe put it bluntly to USA Today: “The pledge is an unenforceable document that does not benefit consumers.” Electricity prices get set in state regulatory proceedings and regional grid markets — not at press conferences. Tom’s Hardware reports the March pledge has had “little to no effect” on rates nationwide.
Compare that to Oregon’s POWER Act, passed in April 2025. That law requires facilities using over 20 megawatts to pay their actual costs. Portland General Electric subsequently raised data center rates roughly 30% while cutting residential rates about 1.3%. California is pursuing similar legislation, according to the Associated Press, where Microsoft, Amazon, and other major tech firms face growing scrutiny over data handling and market power.
The principle here — cost-causers should pay — is sound policy logic. The problem is that a principle without a regulator enforcing it is just a press release. Consumers who worry they are paying too much for utilities have little recourse under a voluntary framework.
Midterm pressure may be the real test. If bills keep climbing, voluntary alignment alone is unlikely to satisfy voters — or survive the political season.
