The President said the expansion extends those obligations across the full chain of parties whose decisions determine what a family pays each month: the electric utilities that set rates, the developers that build the facilities, and the States that regulate both.
[Note: On July 20, the PJM Market Monitor reported over the last four PJM electric generation capacity auctions, A.I. data center demand was responsible for $29.4 billion in added electricity costs charged to ratepayers in Pennsylvania and the other states in the PJM region. Read more here.
[A.I. data centers are already driving new transmission lines, substation and other grid infrastructure projects and condemnation of property for these projects existing ratepayers are now paying for. Read more here.
[In 2024 alone, the Union of Concerned Scientists reported data center-driven grid infrastructure projects added more than $4.3 billion to the rate base paid for by existing customers. Read more here.
[The PA Consumer Advocate and advocates in other states presented evidence this week the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is failing to shield existing PJM consumers from data center-driven energy costs. Read more here.
[Only a handful of the more than 80 data center proposals in Pennsylvania are being directly developed by companies like Amazon that are subject to the “pledge.”
[All the rest are being developed by data center speculators.
[Data center developers are also locking up existing generation capacity for the exclusive use of their operations [Read more here] and taking that generation out of the PJM capacity auctions and exacerbating the PJM generation shortage-- an issue the PJM Market Monitor has highlighted repeatedly. Read more here.]
The President's unenforceable “pledge” does not address any of these costs ratepayers are already paying and will continue to pay in Pennsylvania until effective state legislation is passed. Read more here.
Gov. Shapiro said this week he plans to take additional unspecified executive actions to better regulate A.I. data centers in the coming weeks due to the failure of Senate Republicans to act on legislation. Read more here.
Click Here for the President's announcement.
NewsClip:
-- PPL Utilities Signs President’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge [Except It Doesn’t Cover Projects Like Transmission Lines, Other Infrastructure Structure Already Approved]
Related Articles This Week:
-- PA Coalition Launches Building A Brighter PA To Lower Energy Bills, Build A Clean-Energy Economy Over The Next 4 Years [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: As Utility Rates Continue To Rise In PA, Coalition Is Pushing For Renewables To Rein In Costs
-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: A.I. Data Center-Driven Electricity Demand In PA, Surrounding States Outstripping Supply, Keeping Prices High
-- Utility Dive: PJM Market Monitor: Data Centers Drove $6.3 Billion In July PJM Generation Capacity Auction Costs; Over Last 4 Auctions - $29.4 Billion In Costs
-- TribLive/AP: President Expands Voluntary Pledge To Protect Consumers From High Utility Bills Driven By A.I. Data Center Demands
-- The Center Square: PPL Electric Condemnation Of Land For Transmission Lines Needed To Feed A.I. Data Centers Triggers Stress, Anxiety In Luzerne County
-- Utility Dive: GE Vernova Natural Gas Power Turbine Backlog Now 116 GW And Growing; Ordering Now For 2031
-- Utility Dive: Natural Gas Power Generation Decreased 4% In 2025; Coal-Fired Power Plant Generation Increased 13%; Wind & Solar Generation Increased 3% and 34%
[Posted: July 24, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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