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 needs to pay the full cost of powering it
Trade and manufacturing adviser Peter Navarro made the administration’s position clear over the weekend, arguing that data center builders should not be allowed to shift the costs of electricity, water, and grid strain onto American ratepayers.
“All of these data center builders, Meta on down, need to pay for all, all of the costs. They need to pay, not only pay for the electricity that they’re using on the grid, but they have to pay for the resiliency that they’re affecting as well. They need to pay for the water. So there’s activity, action here going forward, where we force them to internalize the cost.”
That statement lands at a moment when electricity prices are already climbing. Power costs spiked 6.9 percent year over year in 2025 and show little sign of easing. At the same time, electric and gas utilities sought $31 billion in rate hikes from regulators last year, more than double the $15 billion requested the year before. Many providers cited surging electricity demand from large-scale data centers as a key reason for seeking higher rates.
Meanwhile, the tech buildout is massive. Meta has pledged $600 billion to expand AI infrastructure and its workforce. Apple has also boosted its U.S. infrastructure commitment to $600 billion.
If utilities are building new generation and reinforcing transmission lines to meet hyperscale demand, someone ultimately bears those expansion costs. Navarro’s position is that it should not be families who see it reflected in monthly utility bills.