By Ramishah Maruf, Kit Maher, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration and a consortium of governors from northeastern states are asking PJM, the country’s largest electrical grid operator, to hold a power auction as part of an effort to make technology giants pay for surging power costs from new data centers.

In the auction, tech companies will be able to bid on 15-year contracts for new electricity generation, Bloomberg first reported.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the administration is leading a unprecedented bi-partisan effort urging PJM to fix the energy subtraction failures of the past, prevent price increases, and reduce the risk of blackouts,” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers. “Ensuring the American people have reliable and affordable electricity is one of President Trump’s top priorities, and this would deliver much-needed, long-term relief to the Mid-Atlantic region.”

However, PJM has to be on board with the directive – and the company said it was given no advance notice of the plan.

“Apparently they will make an announcement,” the company said in a statement to CNN. “We have not been invited and will not be there.”

PJM is the country’s largest grid, covering thirteen states and the District of Columbia.

While some states like Virginia are in the midst of an AI-fueled data center boom, all that server power is straining the interconnected grid and spiking energy costs throughout the entire region. Virginia’s largest utility is increasing rates by roughly 9%, and New Jersey utility bills jumped by more than 20% this year.

Americans have been facing sticker shock when opening their electricity bills, as the tech industry rapidly builds data centers and other infrastructure to power AI systems across the United States. These centers, which have cost the tech industry billions of dollars to make, use up a gargantuan amount of electricity.

Some communities have rung the alarm on environmental impacts as well as worries about AI eliminating jobs.

Trump has directed his attention toward the rising costs, teasing plans in January to address the rising bills with Big Tech.

“Therefore, my Administration is working with major American Technology Companies to secure their commitment to the American people, and we will have much to announce in the coming weeks to ensure that Americans don’t ‘pick up the tab’ for their POWER consumption, in terms of higher Utility bills,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Some tech giants have already been trying to come up with solutions. Microsoft, for example, said it will ask to pay higher electricity bills in areas where it’s building data centers. It said it would also cover the cost of updating and adding necessary electricity to the grid.

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