OpenAI pledges to pay full power costs at campuses it owns
Two days after voters backed limits on data centres, OpenAI said it would cover electricity and grid costs at future campuses it owns and stop requiring public officials to sign non-disclosure agreements.
Source published · In the Daily Brief of 6 November 2026
Filed under AI industry, AI policy
OpenAI’s National Community Compact, published on 5 November, covers every future compute campus the company owns and operates. It commits OpenAI to pay for the electricity used and the extra infrastructure needed to serve each site, and to give financial assurances that protect other utility customers if a project is delayed, reduced or cancelled. It also promises site-level reporting on water and energy use, and says OpenAI will not require public officials to sign non-disclosure agreements, with exceptions for security information and trade secrets.
An accompanying policy blueprint asks lawmakers to apply similar terms to all large developers. The compact does not cover partner-built capacity such as the SB Energy campus in Ohio, where OpenAI is a customer, and the blueprint creates no independent enforcement. Ballotpedia counted 47 data centre measures decided as of 4 November, of which 46 favoured greater limits, according to MLQ.ai.