Trump unveils Big Tech pledge to offset rising data center energy costs

President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber at the Capitol on February 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images

During Tuesday night's State of the Union address, President Donald Trump announced a new initiative to ensure data center owners and operators absorb surges in electricity costs associated with artificial intelligence use.

Trump said he negotiated the agreement, called the Rate Payer Protection Pledge, with major technology companies to pay for their own power needs in a bid to protect against consumers paying higher electricity bills. 

“We're telling the major tech companies that they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs,” Trump said. “They can build their own power plants as part of their factory so that no one's prices will go up, and in many cases, prices of electricity ...