Trump says data centers should generate their own electricity - but experts say only states can mandate that

By Victor Reklaitis

The president's statement comes as a voter backlash against the facilities intensifies ahead of the midterm elections

What's the deal with President Trump's latest statement about data centers?

President Trump on Wednesday suggested that he's aiming to mandate that data centers generate their own electricity, with his statement offering a fresh example of how politicians are feeling pressure to respond to a growing bipartisan backlash to the facilities.

Trump's statement drew pushback from experts, who stressed that the federal government doesn't have the authority for the type of mandate that the president may be floating.

"It's really the states that have the authority to require new generation as a condition on serving large loads," said Nicole Huang, a vice president and research analyst at ClearView Energy Partners. She added that a key federal agency, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, has acknowledged that state of affairs many times.

There's been a lot of activity in data-center approvals and whether or not the facilities will provide their own power, and most of the regulatory authority in such efforts "resides with the system operators and the states, not at the federal level," said Doug Arent, a global fellow at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy.

In a social-media post during Wednesday's wee hours, Trump said he had "come to a very strong conclusion" that data centers "are mandated by me to make their own electricity, and give or sell any excess back to the local community, or grid."

He added that "therefore there is electric price increase," in appearing to mean that there would be no price increase. "In fact, there could be a substantial decrease. Other elements likewise!" the president wrote.

Both Huang and Arent said Trump could be have been referring to his "Ratepayer Protection Pledge," an effort to protect U.S. households from higher utility bills due to greater electricity demand from data centers. Analysts have stressed that the pledge needs to be turned into enforceable ratepayer protections through work with utility commissions, state legislatures and state governors.

The pledge is "a good leadership commitment," but it doesn't have support from all hyperscalers, which are the companies that run data centers, Arent said. "And again, where the rubber meets the road" for this issue is at the level of localities, states and regional transmission organizations, he added.

A White House official said Trump's Ratepayer Protection Pledge now covers about 80% of the power delivered to American homes and businesses, protecting 263 million Americans from higher electricity bills.

The president's post also included a call for companies to make deals in order to build new data centers, which are essential for the booming artificial-intelligence industry.

"If companies want to make their Data Centers popular, pay the community, and/or individuals within the community, a 'dividend,'" he wrote. "I have watched the process closely, and Data Centers that were highly unpopular in a certain area, have become extremely popular when a financial deal is struck. MAKE DEALS, and get them built!!!"

Polls this year have shown a growing backlash to data centers, which has led both Republican and Democratic candidates in next month's midterm elections to tout their tough stances toward these facilities.

According to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll that was released Wednesday, 2 out of every 3 Americans oppose the construction of new U.S. data centers, while 57% said AI is a bad thing for society,

Separately, a New York Times-Siena poll found that 48% of respondents trusted Democrats to do a better job of handling AI, ahead of the 37% who trusted Trump's Republican Party to do a better job.

ClearView Energy's Huang said there's been a clear shift by states that once encouraged data-center development toward "thinking about how to constrain" such development or even prohibit it. "All of that is really to address some of this backlash that you're seeing at the community-level with data centers," she said.

From MarketWatch's archives (February 2026): Trump says AI will pay its fair share for electricity. Don't expect cheaper power bills soon.

-Victor Reklaitis

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10-21-26 1731ET