In Washington, President Trump collaborated with a diverse group of governors on Friday to urge PJM, a major electricity provider, to curb rising residential power costs. Their push aims to compel new artificial intelligence data centers to produce their own electricity.
Key officials including Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and governors Wes Moore (D-Md.), Josh Shapiro (D-Pennsylvania), and Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) formalized the agreement at the White House. This comes in response to growing voter dissatisfaction that emerged during last year’s elections in the mid-Atlantic region.
While the agreement might not deliver quick results, it gives both federal and state regulators increased authority over PJM, which originally served Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland.
The deal requires PJM, where capacity prices have surged by about 22% over the past year, to allocate $15 billion for new power plants. These plants are expected to boost electricity supply and mandate that data centers finance their own energy generation, regardless of whether they use that energy.
The agreement also seeks to protect consumers by capping charges in the PJM capacity market from existing plants, as outlined by the Department of Energy.
Burgum asserted that this plan would allow the transition into the era of artificial intelligence to be funded by tech companies rather than taxpayers, with support from manufacturing sectors in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia.
Wright criticized the Biden administration for shutting down coal and natural gas plants without reliable alternatives, noting that PJM is particularly vulnerable due to this decision. The Department of Energy pointed out that nearly 17 gigawatts of dependable energy sources were lost under Biden, leading to capacity bids that fell short of meeting basic reliability standards—a situation that, if not addressed, could prompt further price increases and outages.
A Department of Energy report indicated that data centers are on track to consume around 4.4% of total U.S. electricity in 2023, with projections suggesting this could rise to between 6.7% and 12% by 2028.
While Trump had previously discussed allowing data centers to create their own energy, this new agreement aims to make that a requirement.
PJM responded by stating it is assessing the principles laid out by both the White House and the governors. They noted that a decision regarding larger load additions would be announced later.
Even though Trump did not attend the meeting itself, he introduced several policies aimed at alleviating voters’ financial concerns as midterm elections approach. These elections will play a crucial role in determining whether he faces significant opposition or scrutiny during the latter half of his term.
In recent weeks, Trump has pushed credit card companies to limit interest rates to 10%, proposed a ban on large investors from purchasing homes, and initiated $200 billion in federal mortgage purchases to aid in lowering borrowing costs.
Moore and Shapiro, both potential Democratic presidential candidates for 2028, highlight the initiative’s political significance.
Shapiro claimed his negotiations have saved PJM customers around $18 billion, vowing to persist in his efforts to drive down costs.
Moore echoed concerns about the high energy costs impacting Maryland residents, expressing confidence that they are moving toward more affordable energy solutions.
PJM currently serves approximately 67 million people across 13 states, including parts of Delaware, Washington D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, and North Carolina.
