Trump vows Big Tech will pay data center power costs

President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed that major technology companies will “pay their own way” for the electricity consumed by sprawling data centers, saying his administration is pushing back against what he described as rising utility costs being borne by American households. 

In a Truth Social post, Trump stated that his team has been in active discussions with Microsoft Corporation and that the software giant will implement “major changes” this week to help ensure Americans don’t face higher household electricity bills due to the energy demands of AI and cloud computing infrastructure.

He commented, “I never want Americans to pay higher electricity bills because of data centers.”

So far, energy prices have surged beyond the rate of general inflation, raising worries about the cost of electricity and other necessities. According to the St. Louis Fed, electricity costs per kilowatt-hour in the typical American city have increased by approximately 40% over the past five years.

“The big Technology Companies who build [data centers] must ‘pay their own way,’” Trump wrote, adding that the facilities are key to the U.S. artificial intelligence boom but should not burden ordinary consumers.

Trump is talking with Microsoft to ensure customers don’t pay higher electricity costs

President Trump asserted that Microsoft would make alterations, although he did not provide any specifics. While the tech firm did not respond right away to inquiries about Trump’s post, its Vice Chair and President, Brad Smith, plans to speak at a Washington event on Tuesday.

“Microsoft has worked with communities to harness the power of technology to build a better future,” The company noted in its event announcement, before Trump’s post.

Over the past few months, the Trump administration has been encouraging domestic data center expansion to compete with China in AI. However, the accompanying surge in power bills now threatens to jeopardize Republican congressional majorities. The situation has also perplexed power grid authorities, who must balance cost allocation with ensuring a sufficient and reliable electricity supply.

President Trump blames the Biden administration for high energy prices

In his Monday post, Trump also accused Democrats of driving up household power bills. He claimed that electricity bills increased by 30% during the administration of former President Joe Biden.

Currently, public sentiment toward the president’s economic management has soured. The Democrats’ promise of relief on utility costs also contributed to major victories in New Jersey, Virginia, and Georgia last November. Moving forward, analysts still expect the matter of rising electricity prices to stay front and center as the two parties compete in this November’s midterm elections.

Cumulatively, Visual Capitalist reports that America’s data centers consumed 224 TWh of power last year, representing 5.2% of the nation’s total electricity consumption, a 21% increase year over year. McKinsey also projects that U.S. data centers will consume over 600 TWh of electricity by 2030, accounting for nearly 11.7% of the country’s total electricity use.

Cooling typically accounts for around one-third of a facility’s energy use, while servers and IT equipment consume nearly half or more, according to Network Installers. International Energy Agency figures show that AI-related data center electricity use is expanding at a rate of roughly 30% annually, compared with 9% for traditional computing.

Bitcoin mining, a sector also dependent on data centers, is also consuming huge amounts of power. As of early 2024, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated that cryptocurrency mining operations consumed about 0.6% to 2.3% of America’s total electricity. Still, ESG expert Daniel Batten said last week that Bitcoin does not use excessive energy, water, or e-waste per transaction, citing four peer-reviewed studies that show resource use is not tied to transaction volume.

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