Donald Trump calls for emergency energy auction to make tech giants pay for AI power
Financial Times • • business
Key Points:
- Former President Donald Trump and several state governors are urging PJM, the largest US electrical grid operator, to hold an emergency power auction requiring tech giants to fund new AI-related power infrastructure through 15-year contracts.
- The proposed contracts could finance approximately $15 billion in new power plants, with tech companies paying regardless of actual electricity usage, aiming to address rising residential electricity costs driven partly by growing data center demand.
- Residential electricity prices have increased 13% since January 2025, amid projections that data center energy demand will triple from 34.7 GW in 2024 to 106 GW by 2035, necessitating significant investment in power generation and transmission.
- PJM’s current auction system sets prices based on
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