State of Montana Newsroom
Gov. Gianforte Signs Ratepayer Protection Pledge to Protect Montana Consumers
HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte recently signed President Donald J. Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a commitment to ensure that costs associated with new data centers are placed on the companies and not on American taxpayers.
“President Trump has called on the leading U.S. hyperscalers and AI companies to build, bring, or buy all of the energy needed for building and operating data centers, paying the full cost of their energy and infrastructure, no matter what,” Gov. Gianforte said. “As part of the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, companies agree to protect American consumers from price hikes due to data center energy and infrastructure requirements, and lower electricity costs for consumers in the long term. Montana is proud to join the shared commitment to protect ratepayers.”
In March 2026, President Trump brought leading AI companies and hyperscalers to sign the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, with participation from companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI. Governor Gianforte is one of several governors to sign on to the five-point pledge agreeing to implement the framework that promotes responsible investments for data center developers while protecting ratepayers' energy costs.
The pledge calls for companies to build, bring, or buy a new power supply, pay for new power delivery infrastructure upgrades, pay whether they use the power or not, invest in local job creation and workforce development, and contribute to electric and community resilience. By signing the pledge, companies commit to protecting American consumers from electricity price increases driven by data center energy demands and infrastructure expansion while helping lower long-term electricity costs.
The full Ratepayer Protection Pledge can be viewed here.
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