Microsoft rolls out community-first energy plan to prevent higher electricity bills

Microsoft has rolled out a new initiative to ensure its rapidly growing artificial intelligence data centres do not increase electricity costs in local communities across the USA. 

This comes at a time when much negative feedback has been directed at energy- and water-intensive infrastructure being developed due to advances in artificial intelligence.

Microsoft said the technology giant would petition to be charged higher electricity costs in areas where the company establishes its data centres.

This would enable Microsoft to cover the costs associated with enhancing the power grid to support the data centres. This would, in effect, avoid increased costs being imposed on domestic consumers.

Big Tech firms are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into building data centres to power their AIs. 

Industry titans and policymakers often refer to this move as essential to economic prosperity and national security. This increase in overall electricity demand, however, has sparked considerable concern. 

An analysis by Bloomberg indicated that electricity prices within five years of the data centre's construction rose by as much as 267% above the initial cost.

At an event in Washington, DC, Microsoft President Brad Smith stated: “The least that any community deserves is to know that the presence of a data centre in the community is not going to drive up the price of electricity.” 

This announcement aligns with other comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump. 

He stated that his administration was working hand in hand with leading tech companies to ensure that Americans did not contribute to the tech industry’s energy consumption. 

Microsoft would be the first company to take on this role.

In addition to the electricity costs, Microsoft agreed to invest in local water infrastructure, schools, and libraries, to pay the entire property tax, and to contribute to training in jobs and Artificial Intelligence skills.

Microsoft also agreed to contribute towards “water replenishment” projects in areas where the company’s infrastructure uses significant amounts of water in the locality where the facilities are built.

Smith presented the construction of the underlying infrastructure for artificial intelligence as a challenge that has resonated throughout the centuries, observing that it should power economic prosperity while building the strength of the communities it develops.