Utilities covering 80% of U.S. power sign Trump AI pledge, enforcement uncertain

Pledge expanded from tech giants to include power companies and governors

The pledges may prove difficult to enforce because power prices are ultimately set by state regulators and determined by electricity buyers and sellers — not by the federal government — according to energy experts. The gap between a voluntary White House promise and the state-level regulatory machinery that actually sets rates has been the central challenge of the administration’s approach since Trump introduced the ratepayer protection pledge in his State of the Union address earlier this year.

The March signing included tech executives from OpenAI, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta Platforms, Oracle, and Elon Musk’s xAI — recently acquired by SpaceX. Tuesday’s expansion brings in the entities that build and operate the physical power infrastructure, along with the state-level elected officials who oversee them.

NextEra Energy, Duke Energy, Equinix, and Digital Realty are among the nearly 200 signatories on the White House list, which was obtained by The Wall Street Journal. Southern Co. and American Electric Power also signed, along with Republican governors including Louisiana’s Jeff Landry and Georgia’s Brian Kemp. Trump is expected to announce the expanded commitments at a Thursday event at the Environmental Protection Agency, a White House official said.

“The president’s bold action is turning data centers into engines of growth for local communities, while cementing America’s dominance in the global AI race,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a written statement.

The utilities’ electricity promise includes commitments to pay for grid upgrades and infrastructure needed to support data centers. Tech companies and utilities have said their commitments in states from Louisiana to Indiana will save consumers billions of dollars and have touted the tax dollars data centers generate.

Rising electricity prices and opposition to new data centers have driven concerns among industry executives that more of the facilities that power AI models will have to move overseas. Chinese AI-model developers recently released tools that impressed Western investors and industry analysts, adding to an already frenetic industry competition.

Last week, Trump criticized New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive order barring the construction of data centers for a year. Trump called the order a “terrible decision” and said the taxes and jobs from data centers “amount to LIQUID GOLD.” Many other states and towns have proposed similar moratoriums, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) has introduced a bill that would impose a federal data-center ban.

The success of progressive Democrats in recent primaries is fueling fears among tech executives of increased regulation and actions targeting the AI industry, the Journal reported. Many consumers now oppose the construction of data centers in their communities and support increased government regulation of AI.

Utilities and AI-industry participants said an important question remains: whether promises from profitable tech giants will ripple through the AI ecosystem to partners operating on the ground. Another challenge, AI analysts said, is reaching upset consumers and showing them the pledges are actually having an impact.

As previously reported by MSI, the March pledge that tech giants signed at the White House carried no enforcement mechanism and was not legally binding at the federal level. The new Tuesday expansion faces the same structural limitation, as power prices remain subject to state-level regulatory approval and private contracts between buyers and sellers.