White House Wants Big Tech to Pay for AI Power Costs

The White House is planning a new event to bring together power companies and data center builders. The goal is to get them to promise that regular households and businesses will not pay higher electricity bills because of artificial intelligence. Three people who know about the plans shared this information. The event could happen in the next few weeks.

Artificial intelligence needs a huge amount of electricity to run. Tech companies build large buildings called data centers to power their AI systems. These buildings use so much electricity that electric companies may need to upgrade their power grids. The worry is that everyday people — called ratepayers — could end up paying for those upgrades through higher utility bills.

Earlier this year, some of the biggest tech companies in the world already made a promise at the White House. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI signed what is called a 'Ratepayer Protection Pledge.' They agreed to pay for the power lines, generators, and other equipment their AI projects need. That way, regular customers would not have to cover those costs.

The White House said the first pledge worked so well that more companies want to join. The new event is expected to include electric utility companies and businesses that build and run data centers for big tech firms. Leaders of states that are growing their power systems the fastest may also attend. The guest list is still being finalized, sources said.

President Donald Trump's team wants the United States to be the world leader in AI. To do that, officials say the country needs to build a lot more power plants and upgrade electricity lines very quickly. At the same time, they want to make sure that regular families do not see their energy bills go up. White House officials have said that building more AI and keeping energy costs low can happen at the same time.

Not everyone is convinced the pledge will work. Regulators, consumer groups, and lawmakers in some states have warned that households could still end up helping pay for the big grid upgrades that tech companies need. They are asking whether the promises are real and meaningful, or just a way to look good without making a true change. The debate over who should pay for AI's enormous electricity needs is far from over.