Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge is No Substitute for Real Accountability

Contact: Samah Shaiq

In response to reporting that nearly 200 governors, data centers, and utility companies will sign on to Trump’s performative energy cost pledge ahead of an expected White House signing ceremony, Evergreen Action Executive Director Lena Moffitt released the following statement:

“Americans aren’t fooled – A photo op with Big Tech won’t lower a single family’s electric bill. Trump promised again and again to cut Americans’ energy costs, but instead he’s letting the same corporations driving up demand write their own rules—a voluntary pledge with no teeth and no consequences if they break it. Meanwhile, Trump’s actions over the last 18 months have led to electricity prices rising twice the rate of inflation in the last year, with costs expected to continue to rise. In the nation’s largest electric grid, data centers were responsible for more than $6 billion in charges, resulting in unfair burdens on ratepayers. Without any real requirements, this voluntary agreement with Big Tech and utilities does nothing to address American families’ mounting concerns about lowering their bills. 

“Big Tech and utilities have been raising prices without sufficient oversight. It’s time to require that they power their data centers responsibly, using low-cost clean energy sources that are the cheapest, most reliable way to meet rising electricity demand without raising bills or pollution. If executives at today’s ceremony are serious about protecting ratepayers from footing Big Tech’s electric bill, we need real, enforceable requirements to make these companies pay their fair share—not another empty promise.”

###