Not only did Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt sign President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge in an attempt to keep residential electricity bills from being raised to support data center growth, so did two of the state’s major utilities.
Oklahoma Gas and Electric and Public Service Company of Oklahoma joined Republican governors, legislators, utility services and tech companies into the President’s voluntary pledge aimed at keeping data center construction and operation costs off the shoulders of American consumers.
The Ratepayer Protection Pledge, first signed by the president in March, requires companies that build and use data centers to pay for any new infrastructure upgrades and generation resources that serve them.
Tech giants Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI and Amazon all signed onto the initial pledge. Now, the measure is expanding to include nearly 200 more stakeholders, including multiple governors.
Twenty-three Republican governors announced their support for President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection pledge.
The pledge reads in part:
“America’s continued economic and technological leadership depends on reliable, large-scale data center infrastructure built here at home. Data center infrastructure is the foundation of the Internet, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, and supports our economic and national security. As that infrastructure grows and the related electricity demand increases, the American people should not be footing the bill for the benefit of private companies. Instead, the data center boom should be leveraged to address affordability and benefit all American households and businesses.”
Read the full pledge here.
Signatories include: Governor Kay Ivey (AL), Governor Mike Dunleavy (AK), Governor Sarah Sanders (AR), Governor Brian Kemp (GA), Governor Brad Little (ID), Governor Mike Braun (IN), Governor Kim Reynolds (IA), Governor Jeff Landry (LA), Governor Tate Reeves (MS), Governor Mike Kehoe (MO), Governor Greg Gianforte (MT), Governor Jim Pillen (NE), Governor Joe Lombardo (NV), Governor Kelly Armstrong (ND), Governor Mike DeWine (OH), Governor Kevin Stitt (OK), Governor Henry Dargan McMaster (SC), Governor Larry Rhoden (SD), Governor Bill Lee (TN), Governor Greg Abbott (TX), Governor Spencer Cox (UT), Governor Patrick Morrisey (WV), and Governor Mark Gordon (WY).
“As new data centers go up, all of the electricity bills for American families will actually come down,” Trump said during a roundtable event at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday.
He added that Big Tech companies are “happy” to foot the bill for data centers because it will allow them to continue to function and grow.
“I’ve always said that America’s goal must be to dominate the future, and that includes being the No. 1 superpower in artificial intelligence,” Trump said. “This is how we’ll grow our economy, lower the cost of living, protect American consumers and lead the world in AI and high tech.”
PSO Taking Steps to Ensure Economic Growth is Self-Funded
Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) announced it is supporting the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a commitment designed to ensure new large-load customers, including data centers, pay the costs associated with serving their energy needs while protecting existing customers from higher electric bills.
The pledge supports a simple principle: growth should pay for growth. Participating
companies commit to paying for the generation needed for their operations, funding
required electric infrastructure upgrades, and entering long-term arrangements that
ensure they remain responsible for the costs associated with serving their facilities.
These same elements are reflected in PSO’s proposed data center and large load tariff
filed with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in June 2026, which is designed to
help protect existing customers by requiring large-load customers to make long-term
commitments, fund infrastructure needed to serve their facilities, and assume the costs
associated with their energy demands rather than shifting those costs to other
customers.
“PSO welcomes economic development opportunities that create jobs and strengthen
Oklahoma communities,” said Leigh Anne Strahler, president and chief operating officer
of PSO. “At the same time, we remain committed to protecting our current customers
from bearing the costs of new large-load developments. The Ratepayer Protection
Pledge supports responsible growth while helping maintain affordability and reliability for
the customers we serve.”
OG&E Media Statement re: White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge
OGE Energy Corp. joined electric companies across the United States in signing the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge, reaffirming our commitment to protect our customers from increased costs related to serving high-energy-demand consumers, including data centers, as outlined in OG&E’s proposed large-load tariff.
“We firmly believe high-energy-demand consumers can drive costs down for other customers when connected to the grid through OG&E. We support the spirit of the pledge while we must operate within the framework of Oklahoma law and Oklahoma Corporation Commission policy,” stated the utility in making the announcement.
