Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Microsoft said Tuesday it will take a series of steps toward becoming a “good neighbor” in the communities where it has a presence Building data centers– Including a promise to require public utilities to set higher electricity prices Data centers.
Speaking on stage at an event in Great Falls, Virginia, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice president and president, made direct reference to… National decline increases to data centers, describing it as creating “a moment in time where we need to listen, and we need to address these concerns head-on.”
“When I visit communities across the country, people have questions — specific questions. They also have concerns,” Smith said, as a slide showed headlines from various media outlets about opposition to data centers. “It’s the kind of question we need to pay attention to… We’re at a moment in time where people have a lot on their minds. They’re worried about electricity prices. They’re wondering what this big data center will mean for their water supply. They’re looking at this technology and wondering, What will it mean for the jobs of the future? What will it mean for adults today? What will it mean for their children?”
This announcement comes after a post from President Donald Trump dated Social truth On Monday he pledged that his administration would work with “major American technology companies,” including Microsoft, to make sure data centers don’t inflate customers’ utility bills.
“We are the most exciting country in the world, and the number one in artificial intelligence,” Trump said. books In the post, in which he also accused Democrats of being responsible for rising utility bills. “Data centers are key to this prosperity. They keep Americans free and safe, but the big tech companies that build them must pay for them themselves.”
Their average electricity bills It rose faster than inflation In recent years in many parts of the country. These price increases are due to a variety of factors, including the costs of repairing and maintaining the country’s aging electrical grid. But high demand for electricity — including from data centers, which can also be expensive to connect to the grid — plays a role. As technology and utility companies anticipate a massive new need for energy by building data centers nationwide, the Energy Information Administration Projects Electricity bills will continue to rise until 2026.
Concerns about data centers and electricity bills played a role The main role In several local and state midterm elections last year, while research released last fall showed that local opposition to data centers rose dramatically in the second quarter of 2025, leading to billions of dollars in projects being halted or canceled. The political divide against data centers appears to be bipartisan. In recent months, Steve Bannon, Trump’s influential former strategist, has begun speaking out against Trump Energy and water costs for data centers attic War room The podcast, which is part of a larger resistance from some prominent MAGA figures against the construction of artificial intelligence in the United States.
By contrast, the Trump administration has made accelerating the construction of data centers in the United States a major priority. It has removed a variety of environmental protections for data centers, including Water protection, Accelerate the process of reviewing the chemicals used in their useAnd I encouraged them Development on federal lands. The Ministry of Energy also did directions The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees interstate transportation, is set to work on a range of issues related to data centers and the grid.
Microsoft, which has about 100 data centers planned or under construction across the country, has faced some local opposition to some of its projects. In October the company Canceled plans to a data center in Wisconsin due to local opposition; The group leading the charge against this project to caution From “raising interest rates by 5% to 15% to support cheap energy.” The company revealed last week that it was also behind a proposed project in Michigan, which was… stack in December after concerns from community members. Hundreds of residents Attended the Planning Committee meeting project on Monday night, with many telling local media they were there to voice their opposition.