The Trump administration and a coalition of bipartisan governors have "urged" the biggest US electric grid operator to cut costs for consumers.

In a National Energy Dominance Council meeting, the government called on Mid-Atlantic-based PJM Interconnection to force data center developers to pay for any new power generation they require, "whether they show up and use the power or not."

PJM covers 13 states in the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest, including the data center hotspot of Northern Virginia.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) and outgoing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) joined the Trump administration in calling for a number of changes, including calling on PJM to hold an “emergency” power auction “to address escalating electricity prices and growing reliability risks.”

The Dominance Council said that PJM should build more than $15 billion of reliable baseload power generation, and accelerate the development of reliable power generation by providing 15-year revenue certainty for new power plants.

It also blamed PJM for supporting renewable energy projects over coal and gas. Monitoring Analytics, PJM’s independent monitor, found that 60 percent of 2025’s price increases were the result of high prices for fossil fuels, with the grid heavily reliant on natural gas.

"In the coming years, America’s reindustrialization and the AI race will require a significantly larger supply of around-the-clock, reliable, and uninterrupted power," the administration said.

"The United States cannot afford to continue down the unstable and dangerous path of energy subtraction previous leaders pursued, forcing the closure of baseload power sources like coal and natural gas."

"If we are going to keep the lights on, win the AI race, and keep electricity prices from skyrocketing, the United States must unleash American energy."

Trump this week said that data centers across the US will be expected to pay their fair share for electricity, with Microsoft first to announce it would cover any utility costs.

PJM was not invited to the Dominance Council meeting. Hours later, it published its own board letter on utility challenges, which said that it would seek to incentivize data centers to develop their own power. Such projects could be rewarded with expedited connections to the grid.

The utility said that it was still reviewing the government's demands.