OpenAI says AI campuses will pay their own power bill—now it’s on the grid

OpenAI promised Thursday that neighbors of its future AI campuses will not pay the electricity costs associated with their operations, following voter-backed restrictions on data center expansion. The company also pledged to disclose energy and water figures, provide financial assurances before grid upgrades and limit secrecy agreements with officials.

The company’s “national community compact” applies to future campuses it owns and operates. “We will pay the full cost of powering our compute campuses and ensure local residents do not foot the bill for our energy needs,” OpenAI said in its “national community compact.” Each AI data center would also have a water plan, annual progress reports and independent noise studies.

The compact does not specify penalties for noncompliance, a dispute process or independent verification of electricity and water figures. It also does not explain how residents could compel corrections or recover losses. The policy applies only to OpenAI-owned and operated facilities, while partners including Oracle build and own much of the infrastructure reserved for OpenAI, Reuters reported. OpenAI has not said whether its national compact automatically covers those partner-owned facilities.

OpenAI also proposed a policy blueprint directing state public utility commissions to create large-load tariffs requiring major electricity consumers to pay the incremental costs they create. The blueprint urges mandatory reporting, narrow limits on officials’ NDAs and provisions allowing governments to reclaim tax breaks when developers miss agreed commitments. The ChatGPT developer separately announced its Grid Protectors Program on Monday, a national initiative intended to let future AI facilities reduce electricity consumption during emergencies and periods of high demand.