At a White House Roundtable on the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, Science Advisor to the President Michael Kratsios emphasized that American leadership in artificial intelligence must not come at the expense of household energy costs. Speaking directly to President Donald J. Trump and the assembled technology executives, Kratsios framed the initiative as both a continuation of the administration’s policy priorities and a critical step in balancing technological advancement with energy affordability.
"American AI leadership should never come at the cost of hardworking Americans' ability to pay their electricity bills," says @mkratsios47 at the Ratepayer Protection Pledge roundtable.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 4, 2026
"Today, through this pledge, we are challenging all of these companies to think bigger when… pic.twitter.com/H2ccqLDEqh
Kratsios noted that the president had highlighted these concerns since the campaign and underscored that the pledge represents the culmination of a long-standing effort. “The key to all of this is American leadership should never come at the cost of hardworking Americans and their ability to pay their electricity bills,” Kratsios said. He described the expansion of data center infrastructure as a driver of new industries and scientific discovery, supporting broader prosperity: “Along the data centers that underlie them are going to accelerate scientific discovery, they are going to enable entire new industries to support the prosperity of all Americans.”
Highlighting the infrastructure and workforce implications of AI development, Kratsios outlined the administration’s expectations for the participating companies. “To continue to lead in AI, these companies need to make new data centers. We need new manufacturing facilities and power plants to be able to do all this great work,” he said. He framed the pledge as a mechanism to challenge companies to think strategically about cost, grid resilience, and domestic job creation: “Today, through this pledge, we are challenging all these companies to think big where it comes to data center construction by identifying ways we can drive down the overall electricity cost, strengthen grid resilience and create more American jobs in the communities that choose to build all of these data centers.”
Kratsios emphasized corporate accountability under the pledge, noting that signatories were committing to local communities and to the federal administration. “By signing this pledge, all these companies here are making themselves accountable to you, Mr. President, as they strengthen their commitment to communities in which they build and operate,” he said. He reaffirmed the administration’s role in supporting infrastructure expansion and maintaining U.S. technological leadership: “We at the administration are using every tool at our disposal to ensure that the U.S. can build and maintain the largest, most powerful, and most advanced AI infrastructure anywhere on the planet.” Kratsios concluded by stressing the importance of reliable energy for both technological progress and household affordability: “Today we recognize that building the future requires massive amounts of reliable energy, and I’m grateful to you, Mr. President, for asking so decisively to make sure the growing energy demands we have are never passed to the American household.”
The remarks came alongside the official signing of the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a landmark agreement between the federal government and leading AI companies, including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI. Under the agreement, participating companies commit to covering all costs associated with increased electricity demand and infrastructure upgrades required for new AI data centers. By shouldering these costs, the pledge is designed to prevent electricity price increases for American households and maintain grid stability.
🚨@POTUS on the Ratepayer Protection Pledge: "We're here this afternoon for a historic signing that will help keep down your utility bills… Big Tech companies are committing to fully cover the cost of increased electricity production required for AI data centers." pic.twitter.com/WPZEgtGQHp
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 4, 2026
President Trump framed the agreement as part of a larger effort to expand domestic energy production and reduce costs for American families. He noted that the pledge builds on prior executive actions to streamline permitting, reopen federal lands for energy development, preserve existing power plants, and accelerate deployment of advanced nuclear reactors. “Under this new agreement, Big Tech companies are committing to fully cover the cost of increased electricity required for AI data centers, and prices for American communities will not go up, but in many cases will actually come down and very substantially,” Trump said.
By ensuring that companies absorb the financial impact of expanded AI infrastructure, the pledge seeks to maintain U.S. leadership in AI while avoiding market distortions that could raise energy costs. The initiative also positions the United States to remain competitive globally in artificial intelligence research, cloud computing, and emerging technology industries, all while supporting local economies and safeguarding the affordability of electricity for American households.
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