Overview
- Anthropic says it will pay 100% of interconnection upgrade costs for its data centers, financing those projects through higher charges on its own electricity bills rather than shifting costs to consumers.
- The company will procure net‑new generation to match its facilities’ demand and, until that power is online, will work with utilities and experts to estimate and cover demand‑driven price effects linked to its operations.
- Operational measures include curtailment systems that reduce usage during peak periods and deployment of grid‑optimization tools intended to limit rate impacts.
- The pledge follows similar commitments recently announced by Microsoft and OpenAI, with reporting tying the coordinated timing to a White House draft compact that asks companies to shoulder electric infrastructure costs and sign long‑term power contracts.
- Coverage cites projections that U.S. AI data centers could require roughly 50 gigawatts of additional capacity in coming years, intensifying concerns over local bills and spurring parallel policy proposals at the federal and state levels.