Trump Moves to Make Data Centers Pay for Surging Power Costs (1)

President Donald Trump and US Northeast governors will direct the nation’s largest grid operator to hold an emergency power auction that would force technology giants to pay for the construction of a fleet of new plants.

The unprecedented move, set to come Friday, aims to quell concerns about data centers driving up energy costs.

Under the initiative, the administration and governors whose states are supplied by PJM Interconnection LLC will direct the grid operator to hold a reliability power auction in which tech companies would bid on 15-year contracts for new electricity generation. If PJM goes along with the plan, ...