- President Trump says American households shouldn’t have to ‘foot the bill’ for higher energy costs
- AI data centers have been putting immense pressure on local networks
- Microsoft is the first company to make “major changes”
President Trump has said he wants tech giants to “pay their own way” for AI data centers, to prevent Americans from having to “foot the bill” by facing higher electricity costs.
The news comes as the president promises to work with major U.S. tech companies to protect consumers from higher utility costs, and Microsoft will soon announce changes to prevent data centers from driving up American electricity bills.
Trump blamed the previous administration for increasing American utility bills by more than 30% and promised to work with Big Tech to eliminate the influence of artificial intelligence data centers on household spending.
Trump wants to address US energy bills
The President’s comments come ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, along with other commitments such as working with banks to cap credit card interest at 10% for a year.
“First is Microsoft, who my team has been working with and who will be making important changes starting this week to ensure Americans don’t ‘pick up the tab’ for their ENERGY consumption,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, promising to work with other companies.
“I just want you to know that we are doing everything we can and I think we are managing this issue well, so that you don’t have to pay more for electricity because of our presence,” Microsoft President Brad Smith previously said at a Wisconsin town hall meeting (via CNBC).
The company has since backed away from its data center plans in Wisconsin amid community backlash.
At the same time, some companies are seeking to completely disconnect their data centers from the grid to minimize or negate effects on communities. Oracle and Texas-based OpenAI’s Stargate campus will include a second data center powered by natural gas, for example.
Electricity prices increased about 5.1% nationwide between September 2024 and 2025, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. The US Energy Information Administration found that residential income per kWh increased 5.2% on average, but in the District of Columbia this was as high as 25.8%.
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