Donalds says tech companies are willing to pay own utility costs
Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican who is running for governor, introduced legislation Monday that would require artificial intelligence data centers to secure all of their electricity and water from private sources rather than drawing from local power grids or public water systems.
The bill aims to prevent data centers from driving up household utility costs during a rapid nationwide buildup of computing infrastructure to support AI systems. Donalds said in an interview with The Associated Press that technology companies are prepared to bear those costs.
“If you talk to these guys who are building these data centers, if it means that they have to pick up the utility costs, they’re more than willing to do it,” Donalds told the AP. “It’s in their interest to make sure that we can construct these centers, and I think the number one way you address and mitigate the concerns that people are having is to just ensure their utility bills aren’t going up in the process.”
The announcement comes amid a broader debate in Congress over how to pay for the energy demands of AI data centers. Donalds is a candidate for Florida governor backed by pro-AI political action committees and Trump.