Salem, Arkansas — July 27, 2026 — North Arkansas Electric Cooperative joined utilities from across the United States this month in signing a pledge to ensure new data centers do not increase electricity costs for consumers.
President Donald Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge called on cloud service providers, also known as hyperscalers, and artificial intelligence companies to, “build, bring, or buy all of the energy needed for building and operating data centers, paying the full cost of their energy and infrastructure.”
“NAEC does not have any data centers in our service territory, but we are committed to having any future data center developers pay their fair share and to preventing our members’ electric bills from being impacted by these projects,” CEO Mel Coleman said.
NAEC’s wholesale power provider is Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, which generates, sells and delivers electricity to its member-owners, of which NAEC is one. AECC regularly receives inquiries about data center projects, but no large-scale data centers are on co-op lines in Arkansas at this time.
“AECC’s position also is that any data center developers must bear any increased costs up front to prevent co-op members’ electric bills or service reliability from being affected,” Coleman said. “We understand the value to the economy and national security that data centers can facilitate in our increasingly AI-driven society, but their creation must not affect our members’ pocketbooks or compromise our electric system’s integrity.”
North Arkansas Electric Cooperative serves approximately 39,000 active accounts in portions of eight counties. The distribution utility’s goal is to provide reliable, affordable and responsible power to its members. NAEC’s headquarters is in Salem, and full-service offices are in Ash Flat and Mountain Home. For more information, visit naeci.com or call (870) 895-3221.
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