in effect
Proclamation 11014, signed March 4, 2026, is a presidential proclamation declaring the “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” to be official national policy. It announces that seven major U.S. technology companies have voluntarily agreed to a set of commitments designed to prevent data center electricity demand from raising household energy bills.
Participating companies commit to building, acquiring, or contracting for their own new power generation rather than drawing on existing grid capacity shared with residential customers. They agree to pay for all new power delivery infrastructure upgrades required to connect their data centers to the grid, whether or not they ultimately use that capacity. Companies will negotiate separate rate structures directly with utilities and state governments, keeping their costs distinct from standard residential rate bases. They also agree to invest in local communities and coordinate with grid operators to support overall grid reliability.
American households and businesses are the intended beneficiaries — the pledge is designed so that rising electricity demand from data centers does not increase their utility bills. U.S. hyperscalers and AI companies that signed the pledge are bound by its voluntary commitments, taking on responsibility for energy costs and infrastructure upgrades that might otherwise be spread across all ratepayers. State utility regulators and grid operators are also implicated, as they would be parties to the separate rate negotiations and grid coordination efforts the pledge calls for.