BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 22. President Donald Trump is set to announce on Thursday an expanded Ratepayer Protection Pledge aimed at shielding US households from electricity costs linked to the AI boom. The initiative is backed by governors, lawmakers, utilities, and data center developers.
The expanded pledge builds on Trump’s original March commitment, ensuring that companies building and operating data centers pay additional costs so that electricity bills are not passed on to average households.
Trump will be joined by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and several governors who signed the original pledge.
The effort comes amid significant strain on the US electricity system. Transmission congestion surged 81% to $3.2 billion in 2025 in the PJM Interconnection, the country’s largest regional grid serving 67 million people. Last week’s annual power auction at PJM pushed prices to record highs. On Thursday, FERC will meet to discuss PJM’s future amid ongoing supply and demand imbalances.
