Over the past several months, major data center operators and utilities have made a series of specific public commitments about electricity costs, water use, and local taxes. We are reposting them here in one place, with links to the original statements.
Reposting is not endorsement. We have not audited any of these commitments and we do not vouch for them. We publish them for a narrower and more useful reason: a promise that is easy to find is a promise that is easy to check. Residents negotiating with an operator are in a stronger position when they can point to what that operator’s own corporate leadership has said in public.
The federal pledge
Ratepayer Protection Pledge
Announced March 4, 2026, with seven initial technology signatories — Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI — and additional supporting organizations named the following day. The pledge concerns keeping electricity costs down amid data center growth.
Pledge text · Fact sheet · Current signatory list · Signed pledge (PDF)
Operators
Building Community-First AI Infrastructure
Published January 13, 2026 by Vice Chair and President Brad Smith. Among its commitments, Microsoft states that it pays full property taxes on its data centers without seeking abatements — a specific, checkable claim that local officials can verify against their own assessment rolls.
New water stewardship commitments for local communities
Published June 3, 2026, setting out commitments on water sourcing and replenishment in communities hosting Google facilities.
Project Jupiter Water Facts: How We Source and Use Water Responsibly
Published April 27, 2026. Notable for disclosing project-specific water sourcing and usage figures rather than corporate-wide averages — the level of specificity that actually allows a community to evaluate a project.
Stargate Community
Published January 20, 2026, describing community engagement and local commitments associated with the Stargate infrastructure program.
New agreement with Meta to deliver an additional $2B in customer savings
Published March 27, 2026 by Entergy Louisiana. The claim is quantified and tied to a specific agreement, which makes it a commitment regulators and intervenors can test in a rate proceeding.
How to use this page
The most valuable commitments above are the specific ones: a stated tax posture, project-level water figures, a dollar amount tied to a named agreement. Vague commitments to being a good neighbor cannot be verified and therefore cannot be broken.
We would encourage residents and local officials to do three things with this list. Ask an operator, in a public meeting, whether it stands by the corporate statement linked here. Ask for the same figure at the level of your specific project. Then write the answer into the agreement, where it becomes enforceable rather than aspirational.
Companies that mean what they published will have no difficulty with any of that.
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Sources
- Ratepayer Protection Pledge and signatory announcement — The White House, March 4–5, 2026.
- Building Community-First AI Infrastructure — Microsoft (Brad Smith), January 13, 2026.
- New water stewardship commitments for local communities — Google, June 3, 2026.
- Project Jupiter Water Facts — Oracle, April 27, 2026.
- Stargate Community — OpenAI, January 20, 2026.
- Entergy Louisiana announces a new agreement with Meta — Entergy, March 27, 2026.
Note on sources and fairness. This is a news summary compiled by Citizens United for Transparency from public reporting, official government records, court filings, and organizations’ own published statements, each linked above. It does not allege that any specific person or organization has engaged in unlawful conduct. Allegations described in lawsuits, letters, or audits are allegations only, and all parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven otherwise. Where material is reposted or excerpted from another organization, it is identified as that organization’s statement and reproduction does not constitute endorsement. Corrections are welcome and will be posted.
About Citizens United for Transparency
Citizens United for Transparency is a nonpartisan watchdog dedicated to exposing dark money, foreign influence, and undisclosed funding in policy debates affecting national security and economic growth. It collaborates with other transparency organizations to gather information and promote disclosure.
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