President Trump asks tech companies to cover power costs for AI data centers
President Donald Trump said big tech companies must pay for the electricity needed to power their expanding AI data centers.
Fox – Seattle
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff is investigating how AI data centers will impact Georgia customers and is asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for help.
Ossoff, who is running for re-election in the Peach State, wrote a letter Monday to FERC Chair Laura Sweat with questions for the FERC chair as Georgia prepares to increase power generation.
More than $4.5 billion has been invested in AI-related ventures in Georgia since 2019, Ossoff said. But as the grid gets ready to handle more computing power, who will bear the brunt of the costs?
Ossoff says electricity costs are rising
Ossoff said the Georgia Public Service Commission in December approved a 9,885-megawatt increase for Georgia Power to “serve new large-scale customers such as data centers.”
Many are concerned about how this increased capacity will be financed, including the possibility that the cost will be passed on to Georgia Power customers.
“Georgians are struggling with prohibitively high electricity rates. The Georgia Public Service Commission says most of the new energy coming online through recently approved power generation agreements will be delivered to new large customers such as data centers. Without proper safeguards, the increased prices and capital costs of increased generation could be passed on to Georgia households,” Ossoff wrote.
In his letter, Ossoff asks the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to answer other cost-related enforcement questions.
Mr. Ossoff asked four questions. How does FERC evaluate companies’ commitment to bear their own cost increases? What steps does FERC take to improve energy load forecasting? What does FERC do when energy production is higher than expected? How does FERC participate in the rulemaking process?
Ossoff asked for answers by June 1.
The letter was released after companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI signed a Ratepayer Protection Pledge with the Trump administration in March to prevent the increased costs of data center development from being passed on to Americans. The pledge requires companies to “negotiate individual rate structures with utility companies and state governments” and agree to pay for additional infrastructure “regardless of whether or not they use electricity.”
Georgia could become an AI “powerhouse”
Atlanta already ranks fourth in the world for established data center markets, behind all of Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona, and Dallas, Texas.
Power availability, land availability, price, and power costs will all impact how well these cities can support AI data centers.
Georgia ranks 13th in the nation for AI-related capital flows, according to a December report from the American Edge Project.
The group found 368 projects that contributed $4.6 billion in venture capital, ranging from financial technology in Atlanta to a statewide cybersecurity ecosystem.
The state is listed as an “infrastructure powerhouse,” but that distinction has not been without opposition.
In Georgia, the report identified 16 bills that could threaten data center construction, many in early stages.
Democrats running for governor want AI development to slow down
In a recent televised debate between Democratic candidates running in the gubernatorial primary, all three people eligible to participate in the event said they supported some form of moratorium on new AI work in Georgia until regulations caught up.
Jeff Duncan, a former Republican lieutenant governor and now a Democratic candidate, said he would urge the Legislature to leave the decision up to local communities, saying some areas want to host the center while others are opposed. He also said it could help remove infrastructure costs from consumers and make data centers more efficient, such as with closed-loop water systems. A special use permit could be granted by the state, he said.
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said the state moved “too quickly with data centers” and residents are concerned about rising utility bills, even though they generally support new centers. Bottoms supports a moratorium on new development to better assess how the state can manage data center construction. She supports a complete moratorium on them until more stakeholders and experts come to the table.
Michael Thurmond, a longtime politician and DeKalb County CEO, said he respects local communities and their wishes for the data center, but said the governor has a clear role to play. He will ensure that data incentives are beneficial to ratepayers and that infrastructure costs are borne by businesses, not the state.
Eileen Wright is an Atlanta Connect reporter on USA Today’s Deep South Connect team, covering Georgia’s midterm elections. X Find her at @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
