Media: Trump, Northeast governors demand tech giants fund new power plants

President Donald Trump, alongside governors from key Northeastern states, plans to direct the nation’s largest grid operator to hold an emergency power auction, placing the financial burden of constructing new electricity plants on major technology firms.

The unprecedented initiative is aimed at addressing soaring electricity demand and mitigating concerns that data centers are driving up consumer costs, Bloomberg reports.

The effort, expected to be formalized through a “statement of principles” issued by Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council and governors from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and other states, signals a rare federal-state intervention into US power markets. Officials say the move reflects growing unease over the rising cost of electricity and the need to ensure grid reliability.

Under the proposed framework, the administration and participating governors will urge PJM Interconnection LLC, the regional grid operator serving more than 67 million people across the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, to hold a reliability power auction. This auction would allow tech companies and hyperscale operators to bid on 15-year contracts for new electricity generation.

“If PJM goes along with the plan, it could be mammoth in scale, delivering contracts that would support the construction of some $15 billion worth of new power plants,” said a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the approach.

The initiative comes amid mounting concerns that electricity demand in PJM’s territory is outpacing supply. Officials also worry about the impact of energy-hungry data centers, which are seen as essential to maintaining US competitiveness in artificial intelligence, on consumer utility bills.

Trump has repeatedly advocated for situating power plants alongside data centers, and on Monday he reiterated the position in a social media post: “I never want Americans to pay higher Electricity bills because of Data Centers.” He insisted that major technology firms building such facilities must “pay their own way.”

The push coincides with rising political sensitivity over the cost of living, which is already influencing Republican efforts to retain control of the House and Senate in November. While Trump has highlighted falling oil and gasoline prices since taking office, electricity costs have surged due to growing demand, fueling a backlash against tech-driven energy consumption.

By Vafa Guliyeva