The Trump administration is exploring measures to require technology companies building data centers to absorb all associated utility and infrastructure costs as electricity prices continue to rise across the United States.
CNBC reports that Peter Navarro, President Donald Trump’s trade and manufacturing adviser, announced on Sunday that the White House may implement policies forcing data center operators to internalize their full operational costs. The move comes amid growing concerns about the strain AI infrastructure is placing on the nation’s electrical grid and rising consumer utility bills.
Speaking on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Navarro stated that major technology companies need to pay for all expenses associated with their data center operations. “All of these data center builders, Meta on down, need to pay for all, all of the costs,” Navarro said. “They need to pay, not only pay for the electricity that they’re using on the grid, but they have to pay for the resiliency that they’re affecting as well. They need to pay for the water.”
In response to Navarro’s comments, a Meta spokesperson asserted that the company already covers its energy expenses. “Meta pays the full costs for energy used by our data centers so they aren’t passed onto consumers — and we go beyond that by paying for new and upgraded local infrastructure as well as adding new power to the grid,” the spokesperson said.
The discussion around data center costs comes as electricity prices have increased significantly, rising 6.9 percent year over year in 2025 with no signs of declining. Navarro attributed these rising costs to the previous administration, saying, “I just want to assure people that we’re on it, we also feel your pain. We understand the ravages that inflation took on you because of Joe Biden’s irresponsibility, but we are addressing that with economic policy that ultimately will make wages rise faster than the inflation rate, and that’s the key to affordability.”
The administration has already taken preliminary steps to address data center energy consumption. In January, several states joined the White House in signing an agreement urging PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid operator, to require major technology companies to finance new power plants. PJM manages the electrical grid in regions with high concentrations of data centers, including northern Virginia and New Jersey.
The agreement called for 15 billion dollars in new generation capacity within the PJM network, to be funded by technology companies. It also requested that the operator conduct an emergency auction to secure additional power. This initiative proceeds even as the administration opposes offshore wind projects in the Northeast, some of which have received full permits or are already under construction.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating after the January announcement, “Perhaps no region in America is more at risk than in PJM. That’s why President Trump asked governors across the Mid-Atlantic to come together and call upon PJM to allow America to build big reliable power plants again.”
Breitbart News previously reported that President Trump said that tech giants must “pay their own way” without increasing energy costs for consumers:
In his post on Truth Social, Trump emphasized his administration’s dedication to protecting consumers from bearing the financial burden of corporate technology expansion. The president stated that his administration is actively collaborating with major American technology companies to secure commitments that safeguard the interests of American citizens, with additional announcements expected in the coming weeks. According to Trump, the companies sucking every drop of electricity possible from America’s grid must “pay their own way.”
Trump specifically highlighted Microsoft as the first company to take action, noting that his team has been working closely with the software giant. According to the president, Microsoft will begin implementing major changes this week designed to ensure Americans do not shoulder the costs of the company’s power consumption through increased utility bills.
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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