The North Arkansas Electric Cooperative (NAEC) has signed the federal Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a voluntary commitment designed to prevent data center development from increasing electricity bills for local customers. The cooperative serves around 39,000 active accounts across eight counties, with offices in Salem, Ash Flat, and Mountain Home.
Although NAEC’s service territory currently contains no data centers, CEO Mel Coleman emphasized the importance of preparing for potential future projects. "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," Coleman said in a statement.
The pledge, first introduced by President Donald Trump during his February State of the Union address, asks data center operators to independently handle the energy needs of their facilities. This includes committing to build, acquire, or purchase the power their projects require and covering the full cost of any related grid upgrades. Additionally, developers agree to pay their negotiated rates regardless of whether the electricity is ultimately consumed.
In March, the White House announced that seven leading technology companies—including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI—had signed the pledge. By July, the initiative was expanded to include utilities, cooperatives, developers, governors, and state legislators, drawing more than 200 participants. While the pledge is not legally binding, several states are advancing laws to formalize similar provisions. For instance, Oregon enacted legislation in 2025 requiring large electricity users to pay rates proportionate to their service costs.
NAEC purchases its wholesale power from Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC), a generation and transmission cooperative owned by and serving local cooperatives across the state. Coleman, who also sits on AECC’s board, reiterated that AECC regularly handles inquiries about potential data center projects. However, no large-scale data centers currently operate on Arkansas cooperative lines.
“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. He added that while data centers offer tangible economic and national security benefits, their development costs must not negatively impact cooperative members.
The pledge applies only to costs specifically associated with data centers, leaving other factors influencing electricity rates unaddressed. For example, NAEC members absorbed a 9.4% rate increase prior to the cooperative reporting record margins of $14.1 million in 2025.
For more information, NAEC members can visit naeci.com or contact the cooperative at 870-895-3221.