President Donald Trump will make a major announcement Thursday about safeguarding Americans from a common concern as data centers continue to proliferate nationwide, an effort aides describe as a defining priority of the administration's second-term economic agenda.
Mr. Trump is expected to announce at the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C., the formation of a coalition of legislators, tech leaders and utility chief executives who together have pledged not to pass along utility costs to customers as data centers continue to be erected across the country, according to officials familiar with the plans.
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.
The Ratepayer Protection Pledge
The coalition, dubbed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, includes 23 governors, all Republicans. Four of them will be present Thursday.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry are scheduled to attend the event with the president. Mr. Trump is expected to make the announcement alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
A Skeptical Public
Some Americans are skeptical of data centers for a variety of reasons. Data centers house computer servers, data storage systems and networking equipment like routers and switches. They require large amounts of electricity and water, especially to power their own cooling systems — costs that, until now, have frequently been passed on to ordinary ratepayers.
President Trump is expanding the Ratepayer Protection Pledge to governors, legislators, developers and power providers to ensure everyone involved in building and powering data centers covers their own costs instead of passing them on to American families.
"Engines of Growth"
"President Trump is expanding the Ratepayer Protection Pledge to governors, legislators, developers and power providers to ensure everyone involved in building and powering data centers covers their own costs instead of passing them on to American families," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told I News Australia.
"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," Ms. Rogers added.
For an administration that has staked much of its economic message on lowering costs for working families, the pledge represents an early, tangible attempt to align the country's rapid AI build-out with the pocketbook concerns of the voters who returned Mr. Trump to the White House.
