Navarro Signals Trump May Force Big Tech to Pay Full AI Energy Costs – RedState

President Trump’s White House is making a deliberate shift in the AI ​​energy debate: If big tech wants to build the infrastructure of the future, it must pay the full cost of powering it.

Trade and manufacturing adviser Peter Navarro made the administration’s position clear over the weekend, saying data center builders should not be allowed to pass electricity, water and grid costs onto U.S. taxpayers.

“All these data center builders, Meta down, have to pay for all of them, all of the costs. They have to pay, not only for the electricity that they’re using on the grid, but they have to pay for the resiliency that they’re affecting. They have to pay for the water. So there’s an activity, an action here in the future, where we’re forcing them to internalize the cost.”

This statement comes at a time when electricity prices are already increasing. Electricity costs climbed 6.9% year-over-year in 2025 and show little sign of slowing. At the same time, electric and gas utilities asked regulators last year for a $31 billion rate increase, more than double the $15 billion requested the year before. Many providers have cited the growing demand for electricity from large-scale data centers as one of the main reasons they are seeking higher rates.

Meanwhile, technological development is massive. Meta has pledged $600 billion to develop AI infrastructure and its workforce. Apple also increased its commitment to US infrastructure to $600 billion.

If utilities build new generation and strengthen transmission lines to meet large-scale demand, someone will ultimately bear those expansion costs. Navarro’s position is that it shouldn’t be families who see this reflected in monthly utility bills.

The companies insist they don’t pass on the costs.

“Meta pays the full cost of the energy used by our data centers so they are not passed on to consumers – and we go above and beyond by paying for new and improved local infrastructure as well as adding new energy to the network,” a spokesperson said.

However, paying for direct electricity consumption is not the same as covering the broader system load. Grid congestion, resilience improvements and new generation capacity are financed through regulated structures that often distribute costs among taxpayers. Under traditional cost allocation rules, utilities recover network expansion costs through regulated rates distributed among customer categories.

The political pressure around these costs is real. Electricity inflation is now part of the broader affordability debate. When utilities win rate hikes to finance network expansion, those increases feed directly into broader inflation measures.

“Rising electricity prices will also put upward pressure on core inflation by increasing companies’ production costs,” Goldman Sachs analysts warned, noting that rising electricity costs are reflected in broader consumer prices.

Energy lies before everything. When electricity prices rise for manufacturers, restaurants and food processors, the increases aren’t limited to the utility bill.

President Trump has publicly rejected the idea that households should absorb these increases.

“I never want Americans to pay higher electricity bills because of data centers.”

He added that “the big tech companies that build them…have to pay for it themselves.”

The administration has begun to back up this rhetoric with action. In January, several states and the White House signed an agreement urging PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid operator, to require big tech companies to fund $15 billion for new generating capacity. PJM operates in some of the most data center-rich regions of the country, including northern Virginia and New Jersey.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright stressed the urgency.

“Perhaps no region of America is more at risk than PJM. That’s why President Trump has asked governors in the Mid-Atlantic region to come together and call on PJM to enable America to rebuild large, reliable power plants.”

At the same time, the administration has made clear that it has no plans to slow down the development of AI.

“We need to lead the way for China and other countries in this area. At the same time, we need to be aware of the impacts across this country.”

Critics warn that too aggressive cost shifting could slow domestic investment in AI at a time of intense global competition. But some companies are already moving in the direction Navarro describes. Anthropic has committed to covering 100% of network upgrade costs associated with its AI data centers as part of a $50 billion infrastructure plan. Microsoft said it would pay utility rates sufficient to cover electricity related to its facilities and minimize burdens on surrounding communities.

Learn more: Now, experts warn that revolutionary AI tools are changing everything

What exactly is AI? How does it work, where does it go and why does it use so much energy?

AI’s leadership is undisputed.

The distribution of costs is.

The network is regulated. Rates are approved. Infrastructure is financed.

If data centers require billions in next generation and transmission, someone writes the check.

The White House is signaling that it shouldn’t be the middle class.

Editor’s note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, the U.S. economy is back on track.

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