Key Takeaways
- Amazon is taking a major step to support the power grid and ensure that customers’ power bills will not rise due to data centers by joining the White House Energy Pledge.
- We cover all data center energy costs, including expenses for new power resources and grid improvements, ensuring we support local infrastructure without shifting costs to customers.
- Since 2020, Amazon has ranked among the world’s largest buyers of carbon-free energy.
- Amazon has launched over 700 carbon-free projects and provides more than 40 GW of energy.
Today, Amazon is proud to have signed the ratepayer protection pledge at the White House. We appreciate the administration’s leadership on this issue. The pledge sets an important standard for protecting customers and supporting responsible, long-term energy partnerships that strengthen the grid and the communities where our data centers are located.
We build and operate data centers responsibly, covering all costs and investing in new energy sources to strengthen the grid and support local communities.
These efforts create skilled jobs, generate significant local tax revenue, and support job-training programs, directly benefiting surrounding communities.
We understand that rising utility costs are a concern for American families. While data centers are often discussed in this context, independent studies show they are actually helping keep rates lower, even as other factors drive costs up.
When we build data centers, we help upgrade the grid. Meeting growing energy needs helps keep electricity affordable and reliable, and supports economic growth and competitiveness.
Amazon Contributes To America’s Electricity System
Amazon fully pays for its electricity and invests in new generation and transmission infrastructure in our communities by working with local partners to meet future demand without passing costs to customers.
For example, we have participated in utility rate proceedings in Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, and Virginia to ensure we protect ratepayers and pay the full cost to serve our data centers. For Amazon, paying the monthly power bill is only part of what it takes to run a data center responsibly. We also pay for additional infrastructure to deliver that power to our data centers, including new transmission lines, substations, and other grid upgrades.
We use long-term utility agreements, such as minimum demand charges, financial guarantees, and multi-year commitments, to ensure that Amazon covers all data center costs and does not pass them on to households or small businesses.
Amazon’s Grid Modernization Benefits Local Communities
At the same time, Amazon’s commitments provide utilities with the capital and certainty they need to invest in major initiatives that serve households, businesses, and local communities.
- Recently in Indiana, a collaboration between Amazon and NIPSCO resulted in an agreement expected to provide approximately $1 billion in cost savings to NIPSCO customers over 15 years, while also supporting Project Rainier, an AI compute facility. Additionally, Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) announced rate reductions due to increased revenue from data center growth, which is helping lower local customers’ costs.
- In Louisiana, Amazon’s full funding of our new data center campus—covering all energy infrastructure and grid upgrades enhances reliability and ensures no additional costs for SWEPCO customers.
- In Mississippi, Entergy’s $300 million grid transformation to cut outages by 50% is funded by Amazon and other large customers, so there is no additional cost for residential customers.
- In Pennsylvania, our agreements ensure that Amazon pays for transmission system upgrades, helping local electric utilities lower costs and benefit all energy users without increasing household rates.
At Salem Township Data Center Campus in Pennsylvania, our investment provides direct financial support for the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant, helping ensure ongoing, safe, and reliable energy for local residents with no additional cost to consumers.
How Amazon is Helping Power America’s AI Future
The American economy is expanding, driving energy demand across sectors such as advanced manufacturing, transportation, and imaging technologies like AI. This growth highlights our economic strength but requires faster grid modernization. Utilities, regulators, policy makers, and energy providers must collaborate, aided by smart policies, streamlined permitting, and ongoing investment.
Amazon supports this effort by making long-term energy commitments and investments that strengthen America’s energy future. Since 2020, we have led corporate purchases of carbon-free energy, with over 700 projects providing more than 40 GW of capacity, enough to power over 12 million American homes.
These projects supply carbon-free energy while creating thousands of local construction and permanent jobs. They bring new energy resources to homes, hospitals, and schools, keeping costs affordable and enabling vital technologies.
We are also developing the next generation of nuclear power. In Washington, we agreed to develop advanced small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) capable of providing up to 960 MW of power. We invested in X-energy, a leading U.S. company developing SMRs, to help create over 5 GW of nuclear energy by 2039. We also work with national labs such as Idaho National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, using our AI technology to help them develop safer and more advanced nuclear fusion and fusion power.
A Responsible Way Forward
By signing the ratepayer protection pledge, Amazon supports affordable, reliable energy for customers, invests in new grid enhancements, builds responsibly, and collaborates to ensure the digital economy benefits all.
While we continue grid upgrades, more must be done. Outdated transmission lines and permitting delays challenged competitiveness. We urge bipartisan action to support innovation and secure America’s energy edge.
We invite government, industry, and community stakeholders to support and accelerate the transition to a resilient, modern grid. Taking action now will protect ratepayers, increase infrastructure investment, and secure America’s affordable energy future.
Source: A responsible path forward for America’s energy future
