WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday at a Ratepayer Protection Pledge roundtable that the pledge is how the United States will promote economic growth, lower costs, protect consumers, and dominate the global artificial intelligence race all at once.
Trump delivered remarks to kick off the roundtable at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, several governors, and tech and energy executives.
“With the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, we’re creating a fair deal for everybody. This is how we’ll grow our economy, lower the cost of living, protect American consumers, and lead the world in AI and high tech all at the same time,” the president said of the pledge.
More than 220 utilities, tech companies, state governments, and additional partners have joined the pledge, aimed at ensuring the cost of data center energy demands are not passed on to consumers. Trump introduced the pledge in March.
The president pointed to multiple examples of communities benefiting financially from data centers and investments, including in Georgia and in Richland Parish, Louisiana. As an example, Trump said that “Southern Company’s Georgia Power has frozen base rates for households until 2029.”
Trump also noted that American Electric Power projects its customers will receive up to $16 billion in cost offsets because of data center contracts.
The president pointed to Richland Parish, Louisiana, where he said Meta’s large investment is passing along billions of dollars in electricity savings and also bringing bonuses to teachers.
“In Louisiana… public school teachers in… Richland Parish are getting as much as $50,000 in bonuses this year, thanks to a $27 billion project by Meta that will also save local residents $2.6 billion on their electricity bills,” Trump said.
Echoing the president’s comments, Wright said the Ratepayer Protection Pledge allows America “to have it all” in leading the AI race, rapid investment, and halting rises in prices where investments are happening.
Harry Sideris, the CEO of Duke Energy, which is one of the largest energy holding companies in America serving 8.7 million customers in six states, was on hand for the event and lauded Trump for bringing industry and protecting energy consumers.
“Thank you, President Trump and Secretary Wright, for bringing industries together to secure America’s global dominance in AI while protecting energy customers,” Sideris said in a statement.
Duke Energy announced Thursday its Customer Protection Plus framework that Sideris says will guide the company’s “approach to managing growth from data centers while creating customer benefits.”
“We expect data centers to contribute more revenue than the cost required to serve them, providing billions in customer savings,” he emphasized.
Sideris also noted that in Florida, there will be no base rate increase in 2027 at Duke Energy, and the company has also “found ways to reduce bills by $50 a month for residential customers,” in addition to announcing over $5 billion in future savings for customers in the Carolinas.
“The Ratepayer Protection Pledge is important because it advances these same principles not just in our communities but across the country,” Sideris said.
“By protecting customers while enabling investment and innovation, we can help more communities benefit from AI-driven growth and power the next chapter of economic opportunity,” he added.