EPA expands electricity bill pledge signed by Google, Meta and Amazon

​The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has expanded US President Donald Trump's Ratepayer Protection Pledge. Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia and hundreds of other tech companies have signed this pledge, committing to build, bring or buy all the energy needed to power their facilities and pay the full cost of that energy and its supporting infrastructure instead of passing those costs on to American households through higher electricity bills.​The expanded pledge extends those obligations across electric utilities, developers and state regulators whose decisions affect what consumers pay each month. At the same time, the EPA issued guidance clarifying that certain power plants built exclusively for data centres and not connected to the public electricity grid are not subject to the Clean Air Act's Acid Rain Program, saying the move will support AI infrastructure development while reducing pressure on regional electricity grids.​The EPA said companies signing the pledge are committing to "build, bring, or buy all of the energy needed to power their facilities and to pay the full cost of that energy and its supporting infrastructure, no matter what." According to the agency, the expanded pledge is intended to ensure that the costs of powering new AI infrastructure are borne by developers, utilities and regulators rather than residential customers.​EPA links pledge to AI infrastructure expansion​Alongside the expanded pledge, the EPA issued guidance stating that "islanded" power generation facilities that are not connected to the public electricity grid are not covered by the Clean Air Act's Acid Rain Program. The agency said this interpretation gives developers greater flexibility in where and how quickly they can build new data centres while helping reduce strain on regional power grids.​EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Aaron Szabo said, “Ensuring that the United States maintains our artificial intelligence dominance is essential to national security and economic prosperity. At the same time, it is equally important that we safeguard our communities from utility price hikes. This guidance will provide an avenue to do both. EPA is proud to further the President’s agenda through commonsense approaches to regulating.”​The EPA's memorandum states that the Acid Rain Program generally applies to facilities that sell electricity or are required to report as generating units to the US Department of Energy. As “islanded” power generation facilities neither sell electricity to the public nor fall under those reporting requirements, the agency concluded they are not subject to the program. Meanwhile, it added that if such a facility later connects to the public grid, it may become subject to the Acid Rain Program's requirements.​Get the latest technology news and updates. Download the TOI App.