Feb 24 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday during his State of the Union address that his administration has told major technology companies they must build their own power plants for their data centers, a measure meant to protect consumers from rising bills.
The announcement comes amid growing local opposition to energy-hungry data center projects around the country blamed for a jump in electricity costs.
"Tonight, I'm pleased to announce that I have negotiated the new rate payer protection
pledge. You know what that is? We're telling the major tech companies that they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs," he said.
"We have an old grid. It could never handle the kind of numbers, the amount of electricity that's needed. So I'm telling them, they can build their own plant. They're going to produce their own electricity. It will ensure the company's ability to get electricity, while at the same time, lowering prices of electricity for you," he said.
He did not name the companies involved or provide details on how the plan would be implemented or enforced. The White House is expected to host companies in early March to formalize the effort, according to two sources familiar with the plan.
The Trump administration supports efforts to advance artificial intelligence in competition with China, but the impacts of the rapid proliferation of AI data centers on power prices have become a potential vulnerability for Republicans ahead of the November midterm elections.
PJM Interconnection, the largest power grid operator in the U.S., last month unveiled a plan in which new large power users would either bring their own new generation to the grid or limit their usage when the system is stretched.
Companies such as Anthropic and Microsoft have also voluntarily announced initiatives to limit the impact of data centers on consumer energy prices.
(Reporting by Richard Valdmanis, editing by Deepa Babington)
