U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday during his State of the Union address that his administration is directing major technology companies to build and operate their own power plants to support energy-intensive data centres.
Trump said the move is aimed at shielding households from rising electricity bills and easing pressure on the country’s ageing power grid, which he argued cannot handle the surge in demand driven by artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Under what he described as a “rate payer protection pledge,” large tech firms would be required to provide for their own power needs rather than rely solely on public utilities. He did not identify specific companies or outline how the plan would be enforced.
The White House is expected to host industry representatives in early March to formalise the framework, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The proposal comes as local opposition grows across the United States over the rapid expansion of data centres, which critics say is contributing to higher electricity costs.
The administration has backed efforts to accelerate AI development to compete with China, but the energy demands of the sector have emerged as a political concern ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Separately, PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. grid operator, last month proposed requiring new large power users to bring additional generation online or curb usage during peak strain.
Some technology firms, including Microsoft and Anthropic, have already announced voluntary measures intended to reduce the impact of their data centres on consumer power prices.