Trump forces seven tech giants to sign an agreement to "bear the cost of rising electricity prices"! AI data centers consume 12% of the nation's electricity, fueling voter anger.

With the November 2026 midterm elections approaching, anger among residents across the United States over AI data centers driving up electricity prices has become a source of political pressure that the Trump administration has had to address. Several communities have rejected data center construction plans due to concerns about rising electricity bills, forcing the White House to intervene and quell public discontent.

"These data centers need some public relations help," Trump admitted at a White House roundtable on Wednesday. "People think that once data centers move in, electricity bills will skyrocket—that won't happen anymore."

Seven major tech giants sign "rate protection commitment"

To this end, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and Musk's xAI jointly signed the White House's Ratepayer Protection Pledge on Wednesday, pledging to ensure that all electricity needed for data centers, whether "built, imported, or purchased," is not passed on to consumers.

The commitments also include: paying for all the power infrastructure needed for the new data center (regardless of whether it is ultimately used), prioritizing the hiring of local residents, providing skills training programs, and opening up backup generators to the grid in case of power outages.

Data centers may consume 12% of the nation's electricity.

There's a reason why tech giants are so eager to appease public opinion. A report released by Harvard Kennedy School in February of this year pointed out that by 2028, AI data centers could consume 12% of the nation's electricity, and in some areas, this has already exceeded the capacity of the existing power grid.

Meanwhile, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that residential electricity prices have already risen by 6% in 2025 and are expected to continue climbing until 2028. In an election year with increasing cost of living pressures, the issue of AI consuming electricity has escalated from a technical discussion within the tech community to a political issue influencing votes.

Non-binding commitments: slogans or real reforms?

However, it's worth noting that this commitment is not legally binding. The White House has also failed to explain how it will ensure companies fulfill their promises, making the entire document more of a "political PR stunt" than a regulatory measure with real enforcement power.

For the crypto industry, this policy direction warrants close attention. As more and more Bitcoin mining companies transition to AI data center hosting services, the cost-sharing mechanism for AI electricity will directly impact their profit models. If similar "self-paid electricity" requirements are upgraded from voluntary commitments to mandatory regulations in the future, it will be a double-edged sword for companies operating both mining and AI businesses.