Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Advances Energy Affordability with the Ratepayer Protection Pledge

On March 4, 2026, President Donald J. Trump secured a historic agreement with the nation’s leading technology companies to ensure that the expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data centers does not increase electricity costs for American households.The Ratepayer Protection PledgeSeven major companies—Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI—signed the pledge, committing to the following:Energy Self-Sufficiency: Companies must "build, bring, or buy" new energy generation resources to meet their demands rather than depleting existing public capacity.Infrastructure Funding: Tech giants will pay for all power delivery and network upgrades required for their data centers, ensuring these costs are not passed on to ratepayers.Guaranteed Payments: Signatories will negotiate separate rate structures and pay for the infrastructure and power brought online for them, regardless of their actual usage.Grid Resilience: Companies will share their backup power resources with grid operators during emergencies to prevent community blackouts.Local Economic Investment: The pledge mandates hiring and training talent from within the local communities where data centers are operated.Broader "America First" Energy AgendaThe administration framed this pledge as part of a larger strategy to achieve "Energy Dominance" and lower prices:Deregulating Production: The President highlighted his Day One Executive Order to "Unleash American Energy," which increased oil, gas, and coal production by opening federal lands and streamlining permits.Protecting Traditional Power: The administration has taken action to save over 74 coal power plants from closure and protected 17,000 MW of power generation from being forced offline by environmental regulations.Nuclear and AI Innovation: Through the "Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan," the administration is reforming regulations to accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors specifically for data center use.Market Intervention: The National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) recently intervened in the PJM power market to stimulate what is expected to be the largest development of power plants in U.S. history.ConclusionThe administration maintains that by forcing "hyperscale" tech companies to foot the bill for their own massive energy needs, the U.S. can lead the world in AI innovation while simultaneously lowering utility bills and strengthening the national power grid for all citizens.