The Trump Administration and several state governors are pushing for an emergency wholesale electricity auction that would make tech companies foot the bill for rising electricity costs.
Specifically, the plan focuses on PJM, where projected peak demand is expected to increase by 17% by 2030. The one-time effort directs PJM to hold an auction for tech giants to bid on 15-year contracts, funding the power projected for their data centers whether they use the electricity or not.
This emergency measure is in response to rising electricity costs, which are seeing unprecedented growth largely due to data centers. Average electricity retail prices grew 7.4% in September to a record 18.07 cents per kilowatt-hour. Residential prices are even higher, increasing by 10.5% between January and August 2025. According to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, this is one of the largest jumps in over 10 years.
The hope is to obtain power supplies that will continue to enable the global AI race, while not driving up bills for other customers.
The direction will be through a non-binding “statement of principles” signed by Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council and the governors of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and other states. While this doesn’t hold legal standing, it will likely still exert enough pressure to motivate a response.
