Microsoft Vows to Foot Sky-High Data Center Electric Bill Without Charging You
KEY POINTS
- •Microsoft’s president Brad Smith said in January 2026 they’ll ensure 44 new data centers won’t raise residential electricity costs.
- •24 of Microsoft's data centers are in Virginia, with others scattered in Texas, Illinois, and Iowa, as part of a nationwide boom.
- •Despite massive power use rivaling states like Ohio, Microsoft pledges to pay utilities and cover grid improvements to avoid rate hikes.
In a move straight out of 'How to Avoid Pissing Off Residents 101,' Microsoft president Brad Smith declared on January 13, 2026, that Big Blue’s 44 newly permitted data centers won’t spike your electricity bills—even though they're basically mini-power plants sucking up the juice. With 24 of these mega-batteries plugged into Virginia alone (because why stop there?), and a behemoth facility slurping power in Maricopa County, Arizona, Microsoft's promise echoes President Trump's Truth Social shoutout telling Americans not to 'pick up the tab.' Microsoft claims it will pay for the astronomical costs, keep regulators on speed dial, and cover grid upgrades, refusing to let these data centers be the new neighborhood freeloaders. Meanwhile, Amazon’s 177 data centers are gobbling 30 to 48 terawatt-hours annually, dwarfing Microsoft’s ‘modest’ 16 to 25 terawatt-hour appetite. For context, those bytes and watts equal Ohio’s or almost Florida’s yearly electricity needs. Local communities are less thrilled, worried their bills will fuel this data-center electricity circus, but Microsoft’s all-in, swearing to pay its hefty tab. It’s basically tech’s Venmo for electric bills, promising to never “pass on the cost” except to shareholders and maybe a confused electricity meter.
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Microsoft promises your electric bill won’t skyrocket thanks to their 44 data centers—because literal power-sucking monsters always pay their own tab, right? Also, President Trump’s involved, naturally.
Microsoft’s giant power hoses say they’ll pay their own electric bills while still building 44 new monster data centers. Someone call the electric company meltdown hotline.
44 data centers gulp juice like a frat party, but Microsoft swears they won't make your bills explode. Yeah, and I’m a cloud server.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 1/14/2026 | Author: Hannah Beckler
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