# One Line Out. Alaska's One Name on the AI Power Pledge > Cordova sits on Prince William Sound, off the state highway system, with no transmission line to another community. Published 2026-07-26 by Alaska AI. 9 slides. Canonical: https://alaskaaihq.com/archive/2026-07-26/ ## The story One Alaska utility signed. Its wires reach no one else. 281 names on the pledge. One of them is in Alaska. Cordova Electric Cooperative is filed under Cooperative on the White House signatory page. No Railbelt utility appears on the list as read. Five commitments. Nobody has to keep them. USA TODAY and POWER both call the pledge non binding. Twenty three governors signed an addendum promising to implement its principles to the greatest extent possible. 1,566 customers. 18 megawatts. No line out. Cordova Electric Cooperative runs one diesel plant and two hydroelectric plants. The town is off the state highway system and the cooperative is not connected by transmission line to any other community. Every megawatt in this story, on one axis. It passed the Senate. Then it stopped. SB 250 would have required commission approved contracts so a data center's infrastructure and service costs are borne by the operator rather than shifted to other customers. It passed the Alaska Senate on May 16, 2026 and died in House Community and Regional Affairs. A pledge asks. A contract binds. The other answer is to leave the grid entirely. Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska introduced the DATA Act on April 21, 2026. He says it lets manufacturers run on fully self contained grid of one power systems. A promise is not an instrument. Twenty three governors signed. One Alaska utility signed, as the list read 2026-07-26. Neither signature is a rule. ## What we verified - Gov. Mike Dunleavy of Alaska is one of 23 Republican governors who signed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge addendum announced on July 23, 2026. [Republican Governors Association](https://www.rga.org/republican-governors-sign-president-trumps-ratepayer-protection-pledge/), primary document, 2026-07-23. - The pledge preamble states that the American people should not be footing the bill for the benefit of private companies. [Republican Governors Association](https://www.rga.org/republican-governors-sign-president-trumps-ratepayer-protection-pledge/), primary document, 2026-07-23. - The pledge sets five commitments for signing companies, build bring or buy new power supply, pay for new power delivery infrastructure, pay whether they use the power or not, invest in local jobs and workforce development, and contribute to grid and community resilience. [The White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/ratepayer-protection-pledge/), primary document, 2026-07-26. - EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the global race for AI is underway and America must win it, but not by asking working families to pay for it. [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency](https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/president-trump-expands-historic-ratepayer-protection-pledge-protect-american), primary document, 2026-07-23. - The pledge was first signed on March 4, 2026 by seven AI companies and hyperscalers, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI. [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency](https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/president-trump-expands-historic-ratepayer-protection-pledge-protect-american), primary document, 2026-07-23. - Read live on July 26, 2026 the White House signatory page counters showed All 281, Cooperatives 176, Utilities 69 and Data Center Developers 35. [The White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/ratepayer-protection-pledge/), primary document, 2026-07-26. - Cordova Electric Cooperative is listed as a signatory on the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge page under the Cooperative category. [The White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/ratepayer-protection-pledge/), primary document, 2026-07-26. - Cordova Electric Cooperative is located in Cordova, Alaska. [Cordova Electric Cooperative](https://www.cordovaelectric.com/), primary document, 2026-07-26. - Cordova Electric Cooperative is the only Alaska entity on the White House signatory list as read on July 26, 2026. [The White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/ratepayer-protection-pledge/), primary document, 2026-07-26. - Cordova Electric Cooperative serves 1,566 customers. [Cordova Electric Cooperative](https://www.cordovaelectric.com/about/), primary document, 2026-07-26. - Cordova is not connected by transmission line to other communities. [Cordova Electric Cooperative](https://www.cordovaelectric.com/about/), primary document, 2026-07-26. - Cordova Electric Cooperative has total generating capacity of 18 megawatts across one diesel plant and two hydroelectric plants. [Cordova Electric Cooperative](https://www.cordovaelectric.com/about/), primary document, 2026-07-26. - Rep. Nick Begich introduced the House DATA Act of 2026 on April 21, 2026 with Reps. Dan Crenshaw and Burgess Owens as a companion to Senate legislation led by Sen. Tom Cotton. [Office of Rep. Nick Begich](https://begich.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-begich-leads-legislation-lower-energy-costs-introduces-house), primary document, 2026-04-21. - Begich says the DATA Act allows manufacturers to operate on fully self contained grid of one power systems so innovation can scale without forcing households to subsidize massive new energy demands. [Office of Rep. Nick Begich](https://begich.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-begich-leads-legislation-lower-energy-costs-introduces-house), primary document, 2026-04-21. - The Department of the Air Force is offering approximately 4,700 acres across twelve parcels at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Eielson Air Force Base and Clear Space Force Station for potential AI data centers. [U.S. Air Force](https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4456660/daf-takes-steps-for-potential-alaskan-ai-data-centers/), primary document, 2026-04-10. - Robert Moriarty, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, called the land offering a unique opportunity for a true public private partnership supporting the growing demands of the AI industry. [U.S. Air Force](https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4456660/daf-takes-steps-for-potential-alaskan-ai-data-centers/), primary document, 2026-04-10. - The governors addendum commits signers to implement the principles established in the Ratepayer Protection Pledge to the greatest extent possible in their respective positions. [USA TODAY via Central Oregon Daily](https://www.centraloregondaily.com/news/nation-world/23-governors-sign-trumps-cost-pledge-for-data-centers-backbone-of-ai/article_0e204a10-f776-5f29-93b4-04f84a68a7eb.html), report, 2026-07-23. - The pledge is explicitly non binding. [USA TODAY via Central Oregon Daily](https://www.centraloregondaily.com/news/nation-world/23-governors-sign-trumps-cost-pledge-for-data-centers-backbone-of-ai/article_0e204a10-f776-5f29-93b4-04f84a68a7eb.html), report, 2026-07-23. - The White House pledge is voluntary and relies on utilities, developers and tech firms to honor nonbinding commitments. [POWER Magazine](https://www.powermag.com/white-house-expands-data-center-ratepayer-pledge-as-congress-moves-to-codify-protections/), report, 2026-07-23. - As POWER reported the July 23 expansion, the coalition covered 187 organizations across three stakeholder groups plus 23 governors, made up of 55 investor owned utilities, 105 electric cooperatives and public power entities, 27 data center developers and the seven AI companies. [POWER Magazine](https://www.powermag.com/white-house-expands-data-center-ratepayer-pledge-as-congress-moves-to-codify-protections/), report, 2026-07-23. - Cordova hosts a small data center that its electric cooperative operates in partnership with Greensparc. [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner](https://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/air-force-solicits-interest-in-alaska-data-centers-but-faces-some-hurdles/article_4a42264e-cadb-4f1c-a8f4-c74d2b099ba2.html), report, 2026-03-01. - The Cordova data center uses only 150 kilowatts and as a pilot project could expand to 3 megawatts and become the cooperative's largest customer. [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner](https://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/air-force-solicits-interest-in-alaska-data-centers-but-faces-some-hurdles/article_4a42264e-cadb-4f1c-a8f4-c74d2b099ba2.html), report, 2026-03-01. - SB 250 by Sen. Loki Tobin was titled An Act relating to data centers and relating to utility service for data centers, was introduced February 18, 2026 and was marked dead May 20, 2026. [BillTrack50](https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1974439), report, 2026-07-26. - SB 250 would have required utilities to enter commission approved contracts with data centers so their infrastructure and service costs are borne by the data center operators rather than shifted to other customers. [Davis Wright Tremaine](https://www.dwt.com/blogs/energy--environmental-law-blog/2026/06/alaska-data-center-development-next-steps), report, 2026-06-29. - SB 250 passed the Alaska Senate on May 16, 2026 and then died in the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee. [Davis Wright Tremaine](https://www.dwt.com/blogs/energy--environmental-law-blog/2026/06/alaska-data-center-development-next-steps), report, 2026-06-29. - SB 2 by Sen. Shelley Hughes covered disclosure of election related deepfakes and use of artificial intelligence by state agencies, was introduced January 22, 2025, got one recorded hearing on April 29, 2025 and died. [BillTrack50](https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1775660), report, 2026-07-26. - An Alaska provision sponsored by Rep. Sarah Vance prohibiting creation or possession of AI generated child sexual abuse material took effect July 1, 2026. [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2026/06/30/education-funding-age-of-consent-and-more-several-alaska-laws-go-into-effect-july-1/), report, 2026-06-30. - UAF energy historian Philip Wight said power is the one requirement Alaska is shortest on. [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner](https://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/air-force-solicits-interest-in-alaska-data-centers-but-faces-some-hurdles/article_4a42264e-cadb-4f1c-a8f4-c74d2b099ba2.html), report, 2026-03-01. - The Railbelt can absorb about 25 megawatts and the planned Eielson microreactor is 5 megawatts. [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner](https://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/air-force-solicits-interest-in-alaska-data-centers-but-faces-some-hurdles/article_4a42264e-cadb-4f1c-a8f4-c74d2b099ba2.html), report, 2026-03-01. - Alaska's third special session on the gas line was called by executive proclamation effective July 27, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. [Alaska's News Source](https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/07/21/third-special-session-gas-line-begins-next-week-what-makes-it-different-than-last-two/), report, 2026-07-20. Slides and the deck PDF are linked from the canonical page.