Feb 25 (REUTERS) - The White House plans to host leading data center and artificial intelligence companies including Microsoft, Anthropic and Meta Platforms in early March to formalize ​a deal to shield consumers from rising ‌electricity costs, according to two sources familiar with the plans.

The meeting is expected to advance ⁠an initiative President Donald Trump unveiled during his State of the ⁠Union address on Tuesday, in which he said ‌he had told ‌major technology firms they must build their own power plants to run the rapidly-expanding ​fleet of data centers and other ‌artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The pledge under discussion is expected to resemble commitments already offered earlier this year by Microsoft to ​invest in new electricity generation ​and efficiency ‌measures, the sources said.

"We appreciate the Administration's work to ensure that data centers don't contribute to higher electricity prices for consumers," ⁠said Brad Smith, Microsoft's Vice Chair and President. The company ⁠did not say whether it would be in attendance next week or whether it would sign any new pledge.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Meta declined ⁠to ‌comment and Anthropic did not immediately respond to a ‌request for comment.

Trump has made the global AI race, and securing ⁠the vast amounts of electricity needed to power it, a primary focus of his second term. That agenda, however, has become politically precarious ahead of the midterms as energy demand growth from data centers pushes up power bills over a wide swath of the country.

The recent proliferation of giant data ​center projects - needed for the expansion of artificial intelligence technologies - has been met with increasing local and state protests over concerns of rising ​bills and pollution tied to ‌the developments.