The Trump administration, along with a bipartisan group of governors, is asking the nation's largest grid operator, PJM Interconnection, to hold an emergency auction for technology companies to fund new power plants. The goal is to combat rising electricity prices driven by the surging energy demand from AI-related data centers.
The proposal would involve tech companies bidding on 15-year contracts to finance the construction of new generation facilities, estimated to be worth around $15 billion. This move would place the financial burden of grid expansion directly on the large tech consumers rather than on households and other businesses. The plan is being presented as a non-binding "statement of principles," as the administration cannot legally mandate the auction.