Ameren, Gov. Mike Kehoe join expanded Ratepayer Protection Pledge

President Trump's approach to data centers designed to ensure these large users pay their fair share

Originally announced on Feb. 24 during his State of the Union address, President Trump's Ratepayer Protection Pledge now includes governors, state legislators, developers and power providers – including Ameren Corporation and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe. The pledge, a set of non-binding principles, calls on data center developers to pay their fair share of energy costs, including generation and the infrastructure needed to connect these projects to the electric grid. Currently, the White House estimates the Ratepayer Protection Pledge covers more than 260 million Americans, including over 80% of the U.S. power delivered to homes and businesses.

“America’s electric companies work every day with Administration, federal and state officials to protect customers and power innovation,” said Drew Maloney, president and CEO of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). “Responsibly connecting data centers and large loads to the energy grid creates win-wins in our communities – giving businesses the reliability they need while ensuring the American people benefit from their investments.”

In March, seven AI companies and hyperscalers — Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI — signed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge. Companies that sign the pledge are committing to build, bring or buy all the energy needed to power their facilities and to pay the full cost of that energy and its supporting infrastructure. 

"The global race for AI is underway, and America must win it — but not by asking working families to pay for it,” said Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. “Communities that welcome these facilities deserve every fact in front of them and every protection behind them."

While Gov. Mike Kehoe joined the president's pledge, the state of Missouri has required data centers and other large users to pay their fair share of energy expenses, including 100% of all costs associated with hooking up to the energy grid, since 2025. This consumer protection was a key part of 2025's wide-ranging Senate Bill 4; bipartisan legislation passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Kehoe.

"At Ameren, we are committed to keeping costs as low as possible for our customers. We support proactive approaches that balance responsible growth with strong customer protections, creating a framework that helps ensure large-load customers pay their fair share while protecting existing customers," said Matt Forck, vice president of federal legislative affairs for Ameren. "One good example of these customer protections is Missouri Senate Bill 4, along with our approved large-load rate structure approved by the Missouri Public Service Commission."

According to EEI, electric companies and regulators in 24 states have adopted fair-share agreements with data centers and their developers. Additionally, six other states have pending decisions. In Missouri, the Public Service Commission has approved Ameren Missouri and Evergy's approaches to serving large users. Commonly known as the Powering Missouri Growth Plan, Ameren Missouri's approach to serving data centers is designed to ensure high-usage customers – those with 75 megawatts or more of expected monthly peak power demand, such as large data centers – pay their fair share of grid enhancements and energy costs. This approach includes no incentives or special discounts for these large-scale customers. 

To learn more about Ameren Missouri's approach to serving data centers and protecting residential customers, please visit Ameren.com/PoweringMissouriGrowth.