Svmuu News: U.S. President Donald Trump announced at a White House roundtable that Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft,OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI have signed a non-binding agreement titled the “Ratepayer Protection Pledge,” committing to “build, bring in, or purchase” the electricity needed for their data centers on their own, without passing the costs on to consumers. Donald Trump stated that data centers “need some PR help,” as the public fears that their construction will drive up electricity prices, but he said this would not happen.A report released by the Harvard Kennedy School in February noted that the electricity demand of AI data centers has already exceeded existing supply capacity in some regions, and projected that by 2028, data center electricity consumption could account for 12% of total U.S. electricity usage.Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that residential electricity prices rose by 6% in 2025 and are expected to continue rising through 2027 and 2028.The commitment requires companies to cover the full cost of new power infrastructure needed for their data centers, pay applicable rates regardless of usage, and commit to local hiring, providing skills training, and making backup generators available to the grid. The commitment was announced ahead of the November midterm elections, and it remains unclear how the White House will ensure companies fulfill their commitments.