Microsoft pledged Tuesday to implement a “community-first” approach for its AI infrastructure buildouts, including measures to prevent increased electricity costs for residential customers.
The company said it will collaborate with utility companies and state commissions to ensure data center electricity costs are not passed to residential customers. This move follows Microsoft’s commitment to invest billions in expanding its AI capacity, announced last year. Microsoft stated it would “pay its own way” to cover its electrical grid burden.
“Our goal is straightforward: to ensure that the electricity cost of serving our data centers is not passed on to residential customers,” Microsoft said.
Microsoft also committed to creating jobs in communities hosting its data centers and minimizing water usage, addressing contentious environmental concerns and questions regarding job creation. Public backlash against data center development has intensified, with 142 activist groups in 24 states currently opposing such projects. Data Center Watch tracks this activism.
This public opposition has directly affected Microsoft. In October, the company canceled plans for a data center in Caledonia, Wisconsin, due to community feedback. In Michigan, plans for a project in a central township generated local protests. On Monday, former President Trump posted on social media that Microsoft would make changes to ensure Americans’ electricity bills would not rise, stating the changes would “ensure that Americans don’t ‘pick up the tab’ for their power consumption.”
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