Trump snaps at tech giants for hiking everyone’s electricity bills

President Donald Trump has urged major technology companies operating data centers across the country to ensure that residents aren’t the ones bearing the cost of their rising energy consumption.

Trump said his administration was working with major tech companies to ensure that Americans don’t “pick up the tab” for their power consumption by paying higher utility bills.

“We are the ‘HOTTEST’ Country in the World, and Number One in AI. Data Centers are key to that boom, and keeping Americans FREE and SECURE, but the big technology companies who build them must ‘pay their own way,’” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday.

Soon after, Microsoft laid out a five-step plan to build what it called “the community-first AI infrastructure.”

The company pledged to ensure its data centers don’t increase electricity prices for neighbors, including by paying utility rates that are high enough to cover their electricity costs.

Microsoft has committed to reducing its water use in data centers and replenishing more water than it consumes.

There are over 4,000 data centers in the United States, which are large facilities that house the IT infrastructure necessary for storing and processing data.

While they are crucial for digital infrastructure and, in turn, economic development, their rapid expansion sparks environmental concerns.

Only 44% of Americans would support or strongly support a data center being built near them, according to a survey by Heatmap Pro.

Ramping up the electricity bills by up to 267%

Data centers consumed approximately 4.4% of total U.S. electricity in 2023; this number is expected to increase to up to 12% by 2028.

Data centers drive unprecedented electricity demand, causing utilities to spend billions of dollars on electrical grid updates, such as building expensive new transmission lines and power plants. These costs are then passed on to consumers.

In some areas with data centers, electricity costs increased by as much as 267% compared to five years ago, according to Bloomberg News analysis.

Trump isn’t the first politician to address mounting concerns about the impact of data centers on utility bills, as the issue has garnered bipartisan support.

Senators led by Elizabeth Warren launched an investigation into data centers increasing electricity bills last December.

Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, has proposed prohibiting utilities from charging the state’s residents more for electricity, gas, and water to support data center development.

Bad track record of protecting water infrastructure

Data centers are also thirsty for water – mostly potable – for cooling the heat generated by servers.

A large data center is estimated to consume up to five million gallons of water every day, an amount comparable to that of a city with up to 50,000 residents, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

When it comes to using water infrastructure responsibly, tech companies don’t have a particularly good track record.

For instance, Microsoft built data centers in the Mexican city of Querétaro, a water-stressed region, but failed to make any investment in infrastructure to combat drought, according to Tech Policy Press.

Many data centers are located in climates that are too hot, which requires more energy and reduces the efficiency of power transmission, thereby increasing the risk of outages.

The US is no exception, as two-thirds of new data centers built or being developed since 2022 have been located in areas with high levels of water stress.

In December, more than 230 environmental organizations, including Greenpeace and Food & Water Watch, urged the Senate to halt the construction of new data centers in the US.

They cited environmental concerns, including the production of emissions, the consumption of large amounts of water, and the exacerbation of energy bills.

However, politicians proposing measures to tame data center expansion may face the reality of economic growth.

Investment in information processing equipment and software was responsible for 92% of US GDP growth in the first half of 2025, according to Harvard economist Jason Furman's calculations. Excluding these categories, GDP grew at a 0.1% annual rate.

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