Trump summons tech giants to White House to pledge power payment commitments — ‘ratepayer protection plan’ will make data center operators negotiate discrete payment structure for electricity use

President Trump has called on major tech companies like Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google to sign a new "ratepayer protection pledge" at the White House to address the soaring electricity costs driven by AI data centers. The pledge aims to make data center operators negotiate specific payment structures for their electricity use to alleviate the burden on consumers. Companies like Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic have already committed to funding grid upgrades and covering infrastructure costs. While the administration hopes these commitments will lead to more affordable and secure energy, experts remain skeptical about the long-term effectiveness of these pledges without concrete actions from tech companies and regulatory bodies.