US President Donald Trump said that the administration has been working with data center companies to ensure that households will not pay more for electricity due to the AI buildout.

"I never want Americans to pay higher Electricity bills because of Data Centers," the President said. "Therefore, my Administration is working with major American Technology Companies to secure their commitment to the American People, and we will have much to announce in the coming weeks."

Trump announced that the first to agree to this arrangement is hyperscaler Microsoft.

He added: "[Microsoft] will make major changes beginning this week to ensure that Americans don’t 'pick up the tab' for their POWER consumption, in the form of paying higher Utility bills.

"We are the 'HOTTEST' Country in the World, and Number One in AI. Data Centers are key to that boom, and keeping Americans FREE and SECURE but, the big Technology Companies who build them must 'pay their own way.'"

In a blog post, Microsoft's president Brad Smith said that the company was launching a new initiative, named Community-First AI Infrastructure.

As part of it, Microsoft will "pay our way to ensure our data centers don’t increase your electricity prices [and] minimize our water use and replenish more of your water than we use," alongside local jobs, taxes, and investments in AI training.

On tax, Microsoft "won’t ask local municipalities to reduce their local property tax rates when we buy land or propose a data center presence," Smith said. "Instead, we’ll pay our full and fair share of local property taxes, adding revenue to local towns and cities. This is obviously critical to supporting the growth a local community often experiences when data centers are built or expanded."

Financial details were not shared, nor was it clarified whether it includes reversing ongoing tax break schemes. President Trump did not share whether there will be any penalties for data center companies that do not "pay their own way."

The move comes as data center projects have faced local opposition over electricity costs, sometimes leading to project cancellations - including a Microsoft data center in Wisconsin that was pulled in November.

At the same time, a growing anti-data center movement has impacted the Republican party, with a cross-partisan effort to stymie development increasingly politically active across the US.