The White House is widening its voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge for AI data centers, bringing in nearly 200 utilities, governors, electricity cooperatives, public power providers, and developers. The goal? Make sure the companies building and powering these energy-hungry data centers foot the bill for the new electricity infrastructure they require — instead of passing those costs along to your household.

A White House official confirmed the expansion to The Hill on Wednesday, after The Wall Street Journal first reported the news. Under the pledge, participating companies agree to cover the costs of generation and transmission infrastructure needed for their AI projects, and they negotiate their own electricity rate structures with utilities and state governments.

The original signatories — announced earlier — already included some of the biggest names in tech: Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), Oracle (ORCL), OpenAI, xAI, and Amazon (AMZN). Now, the White House says the expanded pledge covers about 80% of the electricity delivered to U.S. homes and businesses.

New signatories include major utilities like NextEra Energy (NEE) and Duke Energy (DUK), along with electricity cooperatives, public power providers, data center developers, and state governors. The administration said the expanded pledge now covers about 80% of the electricity delivered to U.S. homes and businesses.

“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 said in a statement. Rogers added that the initiative would help turn data centers into “engines of growth for local communities” while reinforcing U.S. leadership in the global AI race.

President Donald Trump is expected to formally announce the expanded initiative Thursday alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and several Republican governors: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, and Idaho Gov. Brad Little.

Growing Demand

The expansion comes as AI infrastructure places increasing pressure on the U.S. power grid. Goldman Sachs estimates global data center electricity demand will climb 220% from 2023 levels by 2030, with about 60% of that additional demand coming from the United States. Data centers currently account for roughly 6% of U.S. electricity demand, a figure projected to rise to about 11% by the end of the decade.

The policy also follows growing concerns about the impact of data centers on local communities. A recent Georgia Tech study found retail electricity prices increased about 5% in areas where new data centers became operational, while many rural communities hosting the facilities saw relatively limited economic benefits. Researchers said communities should carefully examine electricity pricing, infrastructure costs, and who ultimately pays for grid upgrades when evaluating new projects.

The debate has already prompted action at the state level. Last week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a temporary pause on new hyperscale data centers consuming 50 megawatts or more while the state develops environmental and grid standards aimed at protecting consumers and the electric grid.