Trump wants tech companies to foot the bill for new power plants because of AI (www.cnbc.com)

President Donald Trump has urged PJM Interconnection, the largest electricity grid in the U.S. serving over 65 million people, to initiate an auction where tech companies would bid on the development of new electricity generation infrastructure. This proposal comes in response to soaring electricity prices primarily driven by the proliferation of data centers built by tech firms to fuel artificial intelligence initiatives. Trump's plan includes a call for the construction of $15 billion in baseload power generation and a cap on capacity charges imposed by existing power plants to protect consumers from escalating costs. The significance of this initiative lies in addressing critical power shortages, as PJM's recent auction revealed a shortfall of six gigawatts—equivalent to the output of six nuclear plants—threatening reliability and increasing blackout risks. Experts highlight that rising utility bills, which have ironically persisted despite promises to lower energy costs, contribute to consumer dissatisfaction and political challenges for the administration. The bid for tech companies to invest in power infrastructure could mitigate this "massive wealth transfer" from consumers to utility costs, a key concern voiced by regulatory watchdogs in the context of rising energy demands driven by AI development.