The voluntary agreement echoes issues Oklahoma lawmakers addressed this year in House Bill 2992, the Data Center Customer Ratepayer Protection Act of 2026.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Kevin Stitt has joined 22 other Republican governors in signing President Donald Trump’s voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a national initiative intended to ensure that large data centers pay the costs of the electricity infrastructure they require instead of shifting those expenses to residential customers.
The White House announced July 23 that the pledge has been expanded beyond technology companies to include governors, state legislators, developers and power providers. The administration said the expanded pledge now covers about 80% of the electricity delivered to American homes and businesses.
The pledge comes as states across the country grapple with rapidly growing electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence and cloud-computing facilities. It calls on technology companies to build, bring or buy the additional electricity needed to power new data centers, pay for new transmission and distribution infrastructure, continue paying negotiated electric rates even if facilities use less power than expected, invest in local workforce development and help strengthen electric grid reliability.
The Republican Governors Association announced the governors’ participation July 23 and listed Stitt among the signatories.
Oklahoma already has a framework
The national pledge arrives as Oklahoma has already begun addressing many of the same policy questions.
During the 2026 legislative session, lawmakers approved House Bill 2992, the Data Center Customer Ratepayer Protection Act of 2026, establishing a framework for serving large new electric customers while seeking to protect existing residential and small-business customers from bearing certain costs associated with those developments. Oklahoma utilities are also pursuing large-load tariffs and related issues in proceedings before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
The national pledge does not change Oklahoma law or alter those Corporation Commission proceedings. Instead, it outlines voluntary principles that participating governors say should guide future utility planning as electricity demand from data centers continues to grow.
Voluntary commitments
Unlike Oklahoma law, the Ratepayer Protection Pledge is voluntary and does not create new legal requirements for utilities, developers or state regulators. It represents a statement of policy principles rather than legislation or a regulatory order.
