The president told Americans that their electricity prices will drop if they live near Big Tech data centers.
During his State of the Union address, President Trump spoke on the electrical bills of Americans who live near hubs where tech companies are quickly building AI infrastructure that require massive amounts of energy.
‘They’re going to produce their own electricity.’
Over the last two years, companies like Amazon, Apple, and Meta have all announced plans to build sprawling campuses that will require dedicated power sources or risk overwhelming local grids. In some cases, states have begun planning small modular nuclear reactors to supplement power and therefore attract tech companies (like Amazon). Where these reactors aren’t built, the consumer will pay downstream.
During the State of the Union, Trump explained surging energy costs from heightened demand is a big concern for Americans in those areas, and he plans to do something about it.
“Tonight, I’m pleased to announce that I have negotiated the new rate payer protection pledge,” Trump began.
“We’re telling the major tech companies that they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs.”
“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 will go down for the community, and very substantially down,” the president continued. “This is a unique strategy never used in this country before.”
Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
“I’m telling them, they can build their own plant,” Trump added after saying the current electrical grids could never handle the power that is needed.
“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.”
Two weeks prior, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) announced the Guaranteeing Rate Insulation from Data Centers Act, aimed at preventing price increases for Americans via data centers.
According to Hawley’s website, the act will “guarantee consumers [are] first priority” on the grid, ensuring new data centers get their power from separate sources, while establishing new transparency measures around data center utility usage.
“Data centers never sleep,” said James Poulos, editorial director of Return. “They eat energy to run the computers, and they drink water to cool the computers.”
The more the public uses AI services and apps, he explained, “The more energy they require.”
“Trump is moving to make assurances that, whatever your relationship to AI, you won’t be priced as a consumer out of local energy markets wherever data centers appear.”
A Department of War contractor told Return that Trump’s plan could turn what is a potential strain on the grid into a “long-term advantage” if handled correctly.
“Instead of massive AI data centers pulling huge amounts of electricity from an already aging system and driving up costs for everyday customers, requiring major tech companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon to build and supply their own power forces them to take responsibility for the energy they consume,” explained Tyler Saltsman, CEO of EdgeRunner AI.
Saltsman added, “That means private money, not taxpayer dollars, would fund new power plants, whether natural gas, nuclear, or large-scale renewables, which could ease pressure on the public grid and even add extra supply in some regions.”
RELATED: Watch the State of the Union tonight on BlazeTV’s YouTube Channel
The Trump administration has been incredibly open about its pursuits in artificial intelligence in the president’s second term.
Last November, the Department of Energy launched Genesis Mission as a “national effort to accelerate the application of AI for transformative scientific discovery focused on pressing challenges.”
Then in December, the federal government launched the Tech Force and asked for the public to apply for 1,000 advanced roles. The job listings procured a whopping 25,000 applications.
This has all transpired as the administration has partnered with different American AI companies — including Elon Musk’s xAI — to help with the handling of government operations as well as the aforementioned goal of American AI supremacy.
The latter has been of particular focus for government agencies like the Department of War, which has been focused on getting ahead of the Chinese communist government, which has appeared to have made leaps and bounds in AI over the last year.
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