How the White House and governors want to fix AI-driven power shortages and price spikes

The White House and a bipartisan coalition of governors are ramping up pressure on PJM Interconnection, the operator of the mid-Atlantic power grid, to address growing concerns about energy supply and rising electricity costs. The push comes as voters increasingly worry about the massive power consumption of artificial intelligence data centers ahead of this year’s elections.

On Friday, the White House National Energy Dominance Council, along with governors from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and other states, plan to sign a statement of principles aimed at compelling PJM to hold a power auction. This would allow technology companies to bid on contracts to build new power plants in the region.

“Ensuring the American people have reliable and affordable electricity is one of President Trump’s top priorities, and this would deliver much-needed, long-term relief to the mid-Atlantic region,” said Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, is expected to attend the White House event. Sources familiar with his plans indicate that Shapiro made his participation contingent on including provisions to extend limits on wholesale electricity price increases for consumers in the region.

Notably absent from the meeting will be representatives from PJM Interconnection itself. “PJM was not invited. Therefore we would not attend,” spokesperson Jeff Shields confirmed. It remains unclear whether President Trump will participate in the event, which was not listed on his public schedule.

The initiative reflects mounting political pressure to shield consumers and businesses from the financial impact of powering the tech industry’s energy-intensive data centers. This comes at a time when more Americans are struggling to pay their electricity bills.

Consumer advocates have raised alarms about ratepayers in the PJM grid—which spans 13 states from New Jersey to Illinois and Washington, D.C.—already bearing the burden of billions of dollars in higher bills to fund power supply for data centers, both existing and planned. Despite these increased costs to consumers, advocates say there hasn’t been corresponding construction of new power plants to meet the surging demand.

The issue has particular political significance as November’s elections approach. Many pivotal contests will be decided in communities experiencing rapidly rising electric bills or disputes over who should pay for AI-focused data centers. In several regions across the country, these facilities are being connected to the grid faster than new power plants can be built to support them.

Electricity costs have already emerged as a decisive factor in recent state elections. Last year’s gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia—a major data center hub—as well as utility commission elections in Georgia where Democrats unseated Republican incumbents, all saw energy costs become central campaign issues. Voters in multiple states and metropolitan areas have consistently ranked economic concerns as their top priority, setting the stage for an intense debate over affordability in the upcoming congressional midterms.

The financial burden on consumers continues to grow. According to PowerLines, a consumer advocacy organization, gas and electric utilities sought or received rate increases exceeding $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2023—more than double the amount from the same period a year earlier.

This surge in electricity demand from data centers represents a significant shift in the energy landscape. As artificial intelligence applications become more prevalent, the computational requirements for processing vast amounts of data have skyrocketed, creating unprecedented demands on the power grid. Industry analysts estimate that a single large AI data center can consume as much electricity as a small city.

The White House initiative highlights the growing recognition that the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure requires careful coordination between government, utilities, and technology companies to avoid disruptions to the grid and unsustainable price increases for consumers.