Microsoft’s Brad Smith Pushes Big Tech to ‘Pay Our Way’ for AI Data Centers Amid Rising Opposition

Data centers push power grids — and communities — to the breaking point

Last year, data centers made up 4% of all U.S. electricity consumption, usage projected to grow by 133% in five years.

'Pay our way' for AI data centers proposed

It won't be easy for Big Tech companies to win the hearts and minds of Americans who are angered about massive artificial intelligence data centers sprouting up in their neighborhoods, straining electricity grids and drawing on local reservoirs.

Trump wants Big Tech to 'pay its own way' for AI power

Trump says voters won’t fund AI’s power binge, Microsoft says it will pay, and 2026 rate cases will decide who eats the cost as electric bills rise

Trump says tech giants must fund AI datacenter grid upgrades

: Big Tech warned expansion must come without higher household bills as Microsoft signals support

Microsoft has a plan to stop AI data centers from hiking up your electricity bill

Microsoft says it will ask to pay higher electricity bills in areas where it’s building data centers, in an effort to prevent electricity prices for local residents from rising in those areas. The move is part of a broader plan to address rising prices and other concerns sparked by the tech industry’s massive buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure across the United States.

Microsoft unveils “community-first AI infrastructure plan” after Trump calls out data centers for high electricity bills

Microsoft’s Brad Smith said that the company will ask utilities and public commissions to charge it enough to cover both data center installation and usage, as well as support two-tier pricing systems (like...