AI data centres: Who should pay for their power and water use?
Updated 7 October 2026
Microsoft · Pay attributable grid costs
Its Community-First AI Infrastructure plan says data-centre rates should cover the electricity and infrastructure required to serve them, including transmission and substation improvements, so residential customers do not bear those costs.
Microsoft · Guarantee reserved capacity
Microsoft is one of the companies that signed the 2026 Ratepayer Protection Pledge, whose terms include separate rate structures and payment for power and related infrastructure brought online for data centres whether or not the electricity is ultimately used.
Microsoft · Bring additional power
Microsoft says expanding supply is necessary alongside cost protection and cites 7.9 GW of new generation it has contracted to add in the MISO region; it also signed the federal pledge to build, bring or buy new generation for data-centre demand.
Microsoft · Fund local water impacts
Microsoft says it funds future water-system improvements in full, plans water and wastewater needs with utilities, finances local upgrades and aims to replenish more water than its data centres withdraw.
Google · Pay attributable grid costs
Google’s 2026 energy plan says households and local businesses should not pay for data-centre growth and commits the company to 100% of its power use and new infrastructure costs directly caused by that growth.
Google · Guarantee reserved capacity
Google’s Capacity Commitment Framework requires large energy users to guarantee funding for new power and infrastructure required to serve them, directly addressing stranded-cost risk.
Google · Bring additional power
Google says it will follow a build-bring-or-buy approach and bring net-new energy online, including through additional generation projects and storage.
Google · Fund local water impacts
Google pays for the water it uses, says it has committed more than $500 million to water, wastewater and reuse infrastructure, and aims to replenish more water than it consumes. The source does not say every attributable local water-system cost must always be fully assigned to Google.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) · Pay attributable grid costs
Amazon says it works with utilities to identify transmission, substation and other grid costs required for its data centres and ensures the revenue it provides is sufficient to cover those requirements.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) · Guarantee reserved capacity
Amazon signed the 2026 Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which commits signatories to separate rate structures and payment for power and infrastructure brought online for data centres whether or not the electricity is ultimately used.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) · Bring additional power
As a signatory to the 2026 Ratepayer Protection Pledge, Amazon agreed to build, bring or buy new generation resources and electricity needed for its data centres.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) · Fund local water impacts
Amazon says it invests in water-system infrastructure upgrades, uses reclaimed or non-potable water where possible and has contracted replenishment projects expected to return more water than its data centres use. Its current commitment does not explicitly assign every attributable local water-system cost to the operator.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) · Gate approvals on resources
AWS CEO Matt Garman warns that the many data-centre moratoria being considered in the United States could slow the country’s AI build-out. The same statement endorses responsible development, but it does not clearly state whether targeted delays or permit conditions tied to unresolved grid or water constraints should be prohibited.
Meta · Pay attributable grid costs
Meta says it pays the full cost of data-centre energy and new or existing grid infrastructure needed to serve its facilities so those costs are not passed to other customers.
Meta · Guarantee reserved capacity
Meta signed the 2026 Ratepayer Protection Pledge, including separate rate structures and payment for power and infrastructure brought online for its data centres whether or not the electricity is ultimately used.
Meta · Bring additional power
Meta says it supports large-load tariffs that can cover new power sources and transmission, and it signed the federal pledge to build, bring or buy new generation for data-centre demand.
Meta · Fund local water impacts
Meta says it pays the full costs associated with water and sewer use, including new infrastructure and enhancements needed to serve its data centres, and reports more than $550 million invested in water and wastewater infrastructure.
Dominion Energy Virginia · Pay attributable grid costs
Dominion proposed a dedicated high-load rate class and consumer protections so large users, including data centres, pay the full cost of service and other customers are protected from stranded costs; in September 2026 it reaffirmed support for those protections.
Dominion Energy Virginia · Guarantee reserved capacity
Dominion’s large-load proposal requires a 14-year commitment to pay for requested power even if less is used; its 2026 statement reaffirmed support for the resulting GS-5 framework and protections against data-centre cost shifting.
Dominion Energy Virginia · Bring additional power
Dominion says Virginia needs additional generation and infrastructure and supports faster build-out, but the cited company sources do not establish a rule that each data-centre operator itself must build, contract or buy matching new supply.
Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel · Pay attributable grid costs
Ohio’s residential consumer advocate says generation, transmission and distribution investments attributable to exceptionally large data-centre loads should follow cost causation rather than be shifted to households.
Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel · Guarantee reserved capacity
OCC backs long-term customer commitments, financial assurances, minimum billing obligations and exit protections so households are not left paying for infrastructure if projected data-centre demand fails to materialise.
Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel · Bring additional power
OCC recommends that extraordinary new data-centre demand demonstrate a credible path to incremental supply through tools such as long-term power-purchase agreements, dedicated generation, storage, firm supply commitments or meaningful demand flexibility.
Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel · Fund local water impacts
OCC says communities should see projected water use and infrastructure needs, and that where upgrades are needed for extraordinary industrial demand, cost responsibility should remain appropriately assigned rather than falling on existing residential water customers.
Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) · Bring additional power
CRU policy requires new data-centre connections to provide onsite or nearby generation and/or storage matching maximum import demand and to meet at least 80% of annual demand with additional renewable projects in Ireland, subject to a development glide path.
Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) · Gate approvals on resources
The CRU connection policy requires system operators to assess whether a proposed connection is in a constrained location and applies generation and additional-renewables requirements before new data centres can connect.
Greg Abbott · Pay attributable grid costs
His June 2026 directive says data-centre infrastructure costs should not be passed to residential ratepayers and instructs the PUC to require operators to fully fund the electric infrastructure their operations need.
Greg Abbott · Bring additional power
Abbott said he would work with the Texas Legislature to codify protections ensuring data centres add to the state’s electric capacity instead of merely increasing demand.
Greg Abbott · Fund local water impacts
Texas requires data centres not to drain water needed by communities and seeks water-efficient cooling and usage reporting. The directives do not establish who must pay every water-system or mitigation cost attributable to a project.
Greg Abbott · Gate approvals on resources
In September 2026 he directed TCEQ to halt permits sought by data centres until ERCOT completes an audit needed for grid and water-related decisions, explicitly tying approvals to unresolved resource information.
Kathy Hochul · Pay attributable grid costs
New York’s Energize NY approach would require data centres either to provide their own energy or pay a premium to use the grid. That clearly shifts additional cost to developers but is not stated as a universal full attribution of every grid cost.
Kathy Hochul · Bring additional power
Her policy says data centres should either produce their own energy or pay a premium to tap the grid. It therefore supports additional self-supply as an option, not an unconditional requirement for every project.
Kathy Hochul · Fund local water impacts
New York’s moratorium and planned environmental review explicitly cover water use and quality, but the current announcement does not specify whether developers must fund all attributable water infrastructure or mitigation costs.
Kathy Hochul · Gate approvals on resources
The executive action pauses discretionary state environmental permits for new hyperscale data centres while a statewide environmental review examines energy demand, water use and other impacts.
Movimiento Socioambiental Comunitario por el Agua y el Territorio (MOSACAT) · Fund local water impacts
MOSACAT’s current intervention focuses on requiring environmental assessment and public participation before Google’s Cerrillos project proceeds. It does not specify whether developer payments, infrastructure funding or replenishment would be sufficient to resolve the water burden.
Movimiento Socioambiental Comunitario por el Agua y el Territorio (MOSACAT) · Gate approvals on resources
Together with OLCA, MOSACAT submitted material arguing that the proposed project should not bypass environmental impact assessment and public participation before it proceeds.
Sources
- Microsoft — Building Community-First AI Infrastructure ·
- Google — Supporting the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge: Google’s approach for responsible energy growth ·
- Google — Google’s water stewardship commitments for local communities ·
- Amazon — The race our nation can’t afford to lose, plus a new commitment from us and a fresh set of community investments ·
- Meta — How Meta’s Data Centers Support American Energy, Jobs, the Environment, and Local Communities ·
- The White House — Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Advances Energy Affordability with the Ratepayer Protection Pledge ·
- Dominion Energy — Dominion Energy Virginia proposes new rates to continue delivering reliable service and increasingly clean energy ·
- Dominion Energy — NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy announce transformational Virginia benefits package that puts customers first and positions the Commonwealth as a global energy leader ·
- Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel — Impose Certain Minimum Requirements on Data Center Customers ·
- Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel — Testimony Before the Ohio Select Committee on Data Centers ·
- Commission for Regulation of Utilities — The CRU Publishes its Decision on New Electricity Connection Policy for Data Centres ·
- Office of the Texas Governor — Governor Abbott Directs PUC And ERCOT To Shield Texans From Data Center Infrastructure Costs ·
- Office of the Texas Governor — Governor Abbott Directs TCEQ To Halt Data Center Permits ·
- Office of the Governor of New York — First Statewide Moratorium on New Hyperscale Data Centers Launched by Governor Kathy Hochul ·
- Observatorio Latinoamericano de Conflictos Ambientales (OLCA) — OLCA y Mosacat exigen evaluación ambiental para el data center que Google quiere instalar en Cerrillos ·
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