Major tech companies sign nonbinding White House pledge to protect consumers from rising data center costs amid bipartisan concerns about electricity rates and utility bills.
Companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta attended the event. Some lawmakers wanted rules to protect people from higher bills because of data centers. The Trump administration said this pledge would help keep costs down for consumers. But electricity experts say the White House cannot control prices much. Ari Peskoe from Harvard Law School said this is mostly for show.
Only utility regulators or Congress can really control prices. Data centers were important in some state elections last year. Few voters want data centers near their homes. Some states want to stop new data centers. Other states want companies to pay for the power they use. Tech companies already made similar promises about energy use and costs. The companies say they are investing in clean energy like nuclear and geothermal power. They also say they will create new jobs.