Trump brings Big Tech executives to White House to curb power costs for American households amid AI boom

"We're here this afternoon for a historic signing that will help keep down utility bills very, very substantially. And electricity prices for millions of Americans, and in many cases, for a lot of people that don't really understand why they're going up, but they're not going to be going up, they're going to be actually going down," Trump said Wednesday. 

The pledge has the companies agreeing to "build, bring, or buy new generation resources and cover the cost of all power delivery infrastructure upgrades required for data centers," the White House said.

The Trump administration has promoted the proliferation of artificial intelligence to keep the U.S. as the world's tech leader, which has included the creation of new data centers and mounting concern energy prices could increase for everyday Americans. The pledge works to combat these concerns and protect Americans against spiking electricity bills. 

The pledge has the companies vow against passing expenses to American households.

It also commits companies to hiring and training talent from within communities where they build and operate data centers, which will create thousands of jobs and enhance workforce skills.

"Today, we followed through on an announcement I made in my State of the Union address last week as America's largest tech companies officially signed the ratepayer protection pledge. It's a big deal," Trump said. "I'm going to have a tremendous impact on electricity costs. We're bringing down all of the costs. We have this little interlude to do what we have to do because we we had it going. But these are these interludes are very important, especially this one. But the economy has never been like this." 

Wright added: "We will continue partnering with technology leaders to strengthen America's competitive edge, while keeping energy costs low for hardworking families."

Michael Kratsios, assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said Trump "continues to ensure the U.S. leads the world in AI while strengthening the grid and driving down energy costs for American families."

As for the tech companies, Matt Garman, chief executive officer of Amazon web services, said they are signing the pledge "to reinforce our commitment to paying our full energy costs and ensuring our data centers do not increase electricity bills for consumers."

"We welcome the Administration's leadership on this issue and support the pledge's commitments, which establish a clear baseline to protect ratepayers while enabling responsible, long-term energy partnerships that strengthen the grid and the communities where data centers operate," he said.

Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith also touted the pledge, calling it an "important step," with Meta president and vice chair Dina Powell McCormick saying the pledge "ensures families aren't the ones footing the bill for AI's energy consumption." 

McCormick said the pledge "gives companies like Meta the certainty we need to keep up the momentum, ensuring that American AI dominance and the prosperity of American families go hand-in-hand."

And Ruth Porat of Alphabet and Google said the pledge affirms the company's "long-held commitment to protect energy affordability for American households, accelerate breakthroughs to secure America's energy future, and deliver energy infrastructure - all of which are critical to maintaining America's global leadership in this era of innovation."

"Building the infrastructure to advance AI is vital for America's economic competitiveness and for ensuring the benefits of AI reach everyone," OpenAI chief operating officer Brad Lightcap said. "As demand for AI continues to grow, we believe the infrastructure that enables AI should benefit the communities that make it possible, and that's why we're proud to support the White House's Ratepayer Protection Pledge."

The White House said the pledge will contribute to "lower electricity costs, stronger grid infrastructure, and enhanced grid resilience during emergencies."

The president announced the Ratepayer Protection Pledge during his State of the Union address in February. 

"Tonight, I'm pleased to announce that I have negotiated the new ratepayer protection pledge," he said. "You know what that is? We're telling the major tech companies that they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs."

"We have an old grid," he said. "It could never handle the kind of numbers, the amount of electricity that's needed. So I'm telling them, they can build their own plant. They're going to produce their own electricity. It will ensure the company's ability to get electricity, while at the same time, lowering prices of electricity for you." 

The AI race has pitted the U.S. against China as tech leader, with the Trump administration amplifying efforts to not cede ground to the Asian nation since January 2025. Texas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania are among states seeing expanded data center campuses and AI growth. 

A White House official previously told Fox Digital that the president and administration have been working on the initiative for a while, including Trump posting about the issue on Truth Social in January. 

The pledge comes as affordability concerns continue to be a top issue for voters heading into the midterm election season. Democratic candidates in just a handful of races in the off-year 2025 cycle campaigned on promises of lowering costs for everyday Americans, which proved to be a winning strategy on election night. 

Trump has consistently pushed back on Democrats promoting affordability, pointing to sky-high inflation under the Biden administration as evidence that liberal policies have left Americans' pocketbooks with less cash.