Supporting the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge: Google’s approach for responsible energy growth
For America to remain the world’s innovation leader, the country must tackle the biggest constraint to growth: energy. The demand for power is at an all-time high, led by new technologies like AI, the reemergence of American manufacturing and electrification projects nationwide. To meet this moment, the country needs to dramatically increase its energy supply, while ensuring that electricity is affordable for all families and businesses.
The White House’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge is an important step toward addressing these issues, and Google is committed to being a responsible partner. We’re sharing the specific approach we will use to protect ratepayers, create jobs and keep the grid reliable as our business grows. We are committing to accelerating these practices and driving new breakthroughs to fulfill the Pledge and secure America’s energy future.
1. We will pay our own way (and protect ratepayers).
The core of the Ratepayer Protection Pledge is ensuring that households and local businesses should not foot the bill for data center growth. We agree. Google is committed to paying for 100% of the power our data centers use and any new infrastructure costs directly driven by our growth. One way we will do this is through the Capacity Commitment Framework (CCF), which was first adopted in early 2025. This consensus-based approach requires large energy users to guarantee funding for the new power and infrastructure required to serve them.
2. We will bring new energy online.
Aligning with the Pledge’s call to “build, bring, or buy” energy, we commit to bringing net-new energy to the grid. In fact, to date we’ve spent more than a decade adding more than 22 gigawatts (GW) of new energy to global grids — the equivalent of powering 4.7 million American homes per year. We will also continue to invest in the next frontier of energy, including advanced nuclear, geothermal and long-duration storage. This includes revitalizing existing American assets, like restarting a U.S. nuclear plant in Iowa. In support of the Pledge, we will also explore new rate structures — such as the Clean Transition Tariff (CTT) we introduced in 2024 — to help ensure that the cost to serve our growth does not fall on other customers.
3. We will contribute to grid resilience.
The Pledge is clear that the grid needs to be more resilient for America to succeed. We will continue to strengthen local power supply by investing in solutions that modernize infrastructure and bring more energy to all users. This includes efforts like our announcement last year with CTC Global to scale advanced conductors, which can double transmission capacity quickly and affordably. Or our partnership with Intersect Power to build data center load next to new additional power generation where possible — reducing both the timeline to operation and the amount of new transmission required.
4. We will help create local and long-term jobs.
Consistent with the Pledge’s focus on local benefits, our data centers serve as engines for local and broader regional economic benefit. In addition to new construction and operational roles, our data centers generate nine additional jobs in the community for every one data center job created — surpassing the industry standard — by fueling growth in the broader economy. Building on this momentum, we will continue to fund initiatives that support local communities. This includes our electrical training ALLIANCE program, which aims to increase the electrical workforce pipeline by 70% within the next five years, solving for America’s severe shortage of electricians. We also will continue to support the communities we call home, including essential school upgrades and residential weatherizing, helping to lower energy bills and strengthen the local grid.
5. We will invest in efficiency and reliability.
As the Pledge rightly calls out, energy efficiency and reliability are equally important to lowering costs. In support of the Pledge, we will continue to maximize efficiency at every layer of our operations. Today, our data centers rank among the world's most efficient, with a comprehensive trailing twelve-month Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.09. When compared with the industry average of 1.56, this is 84% less overhead energy for every unit of IT equipment energy. We also deploy key initiatives like Demand Response, which reduces energy consumption during stress events like severe weather; and invest in projects like Tapestry's partnership with PJM Interconnection, North America’s largest grid operator, to develop a smarter, more resilient and more reliable electricity system.
A guide post for the industry
The White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge is a critical step toward ensuring that America can affordably and successfully meet growing power demands. We are committed to accelerating the initiatives outlined within the Pledge, and are confident that energy growth and ratepayer protection can go hand-in-hand.
