When (any) price is right: Big Tech and power prices
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Even with rising costs, power is a small slice of what Big Tech spends on data centers.
Why it matters: This is why deep-pocketed tech companies are voluntarily offering up pledges to pay for their own power. To them, it's just not that much money.
By the numbers: Power costs comprise up to 7.6% of the overall capital expenditures of data centers, according to McKinsey.
Reality check: The data is from a report published in April 2025, and this is a fast-moving story. McKinsey's largest demand scenario is looking more likely than the other two lower demand scenarios.
Driving the news: Big Tech is under pressure to pay for their power as electricity rates rise across the country, with many communities blaming data centers.
- Several Big Tech firms are slated to meet at the White House next week to sign a pledge to ensure consumers don't foot the bill for their work.
What we're watching: Power demand from data centers could increase 50% by next year and by as much as 165% by the end of the decade, Goldman Sachs predicted earlier this month.
Friction point: Ongoing power constraints could push power prices up so high that they begin to bite into a larger share of capital costs.
Bottom line: Rising power prices hit households a lot harder than the richest companies in the world.
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