The Trump administration announced an unprecedented intervention in the U.S. power market on Friday, aimed at forcing major tech companies to fund new power plants to curb soaring residential electricity prices driven by surging data center demand.

Under the plan, agreed with governors of several Northeastern states, tech firms would be required to bid on 15-year wholesale electricity contracts. Companies would pay for the electricity regardless of usage, providing stable revenue for new plants valued at around $15 billion.

The auction will be conducted by PJM Interconnection, the largest regional grid operator in the U.S., serving 67 million customers across the Northeast.