The Trump administration is pressing the nation’s largest electric grid operator to conduct an emergency power auction as part of a broader effort to make tech giants cover soaring data center power costs.
The White House has urged PJM Interconnection, which supplies electricity to roughly 67 million customers across 13 states and Washington, D.C., to conduct the auction to help curb rising power prices and reduce blackout risks in the Mid-Atlantic region, according to Reuters.
The proposed auction would allow tech firms bid on 15-year power contracts from newly constructed plants, Bloomberg reported.
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Administration officials, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, met Friday at the White House with a bipartisan group of governors to discuss ways to ease data center-related electricity price spikes for households.
Hours later, PJM outlined its own proposal, suggesting that large data centers either secure their own power supply or face cutbacks during high-demand periods, Reuters reported.
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Electricity prices are already climbing.
According to December’s consumer price index, power costs are up 6.7% compared to a year ago, more than double the overall inflation rate.
A recent study by Carnegie Mellon University and North Carolina State University estimates that data centers and cryptocurrency mining could increase average electricity bills by more than 25% in major data center markets by 2030.
President Trump has made clear that consumers should not bear the burden of Big Tech’s energy demand.
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In a Truth Social post earlier this week, he criticized the Biden administration for rising utility bills and vowed that Americans would not be forced to “pick up the tab” for data centers.
“I never want Americans to pay higher Electricity bills because of Data Centers,” Trump wrote. “Therefore, my Administration is working with major American Technology Companies to secure their commitment to the American People, and we will have much to announce in the coming weeks.”
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