On November 5, 2026, OpenAI unveiled its National Community Compact to reassure residents of its future AI data centers. It promises to finance their electricity and network connection, and to publish their water and energy consumption. But the national pact does not provide for an independent mechanism for verifying the figures, two days after a vote unfavorable to AI data centers.
In brief
- OpenAI promises to finance the electricity and network infrastructure of its future AI data centers.
- The Compact provides for annual reports and the publication of water and energy consumption.
- The national system does not provide for independent verification of data or explicit sanctions.
- In Georgia, Project Camellia plans an annual independent audit for its 3.2 GW campus.
- In Oklahoma, a law imposes separate conditions on data centers and crypto mining.
What does OpenAI’s National Community Compact contain?
OpenAI published a National Community Compact and a Compute Campus Policy Blueprint on November 5, 2026. The first text commits the company to future AI data centers which it owns and operates. The second asks lawmakers as well as regulators to extend similar rules to the entire artificial intelligence industry. The compact’s commitments are voluntary. The blueprint’s proposals are addressed to public authorities and are not binding on anyone until legislators or regulators adopt them.
More explicitly, OpenAI undertakes to pay for all electricity consumed and the energy infrastructure necessary to serve it. Each OpenAI data center:
- will receive a water plan;
- will favor closed circuit or low consumption cooling;
- will publish its electricity and water consumption figures.
The company also promises financial guarantees before major network works, so that other customers do not pay if a project is scaled back or abandoned. Residents will have access to construction plans and their expected effects on traffic, noise and lighting, according to Reuters. OpenAI also highlights the creation of local jobs.
Still according to Reuters, OpenAI also waives confidentiality agreements (NDA) with public officials while protecting its proprietary information.
However, the scope remains limited. Partners like Oracle actually build and own much of the infrastructure reserved for OpenAI. In this sense, the company has not said if the compact covers these sites.
Why is OpenAI announcing these commitments now?
The voters decided this week. Ballotpedia listed 41 local measures on data centers put to the vote on November 3, in 10 states. All but one were a setback for the projects, Reuters reports. Engadgetwhich is based on another count, counts 39 restrictive measures approved.
These local elections only cover ten states. They therefore do not amount to uniform rejection of projects in the country. Democratic governors promising to suspend permits were also elected:
- in Texas;
- in Georgia;
- in Ohio.
OpenAI claims preparing these policies since August. The promise on electricity is therefore not new. Indeed, this AI company had already launched the January 20, 2026 its Stargate Community plan. The latter is based on a simple principle: paying for your own energy. Thursday’s announcement therefore associates the end of NDAs as well as the publication of figures by site.
Who will control OpenAI’s commitments to its AI data centers?
THE National Community Compact from OpenAI does not provide for systematic independent verification of published data. Four mechanisms can also be distinguished:
- Financial guarantees protect other clients if a project is scaled back or abandoned.
- Publishing the data makes it possible to read the numbers.
- Independent verification verifies its accuracy.
- Sanctions respond to a breach.
At the national level, the text announces the first two. However, it does not foresee no penalty, no dispute procedure, no independent verification of the published figures. Residents could therefore read the data, without a described way of forcing a correction.
On the other hand, local commitments go further. For Project Camellia, the 3.2 GW campus planned in Effingham County (Georgia), OpenAI announces for example an annual public audit carried out by an independent firmaccording to its official documentation. The power must arrive in stages between 2028 and 2032. During the public presentation of the project in July, OpenAI did not specify who would carry out this audit, according to WTOC.
A 25-year agreement with Georgia Power also makes it possible to reduce up to 1,000 MW of power delivered during peak periods, according to Data Center Magazine.
AI data centers and Bitcoin mining: who pays the network costs?
The blueprint asks state public utility commissions to create “large load” rates (large-load tariffs). These special grids make large consumers pay for the additional costs they generate.
That being said, these prices already exist. On August 20, 2026, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has in fact voted for a tariff class for data centers, applicable since October 1st. Its financial director, Tom Rice, discusses a bill approximately 10% higher on average for these customers, according to WSMVwith an increase in load over three exercises.
In Oklahoma, the Data Center Customer Ratepayer Protection Act of 2026 has been in effect since July 1, 2026. According to theOklahoma Corporation Commission, state regulatorit aims:
- new data centers;
- new crypto mining facilities;
- new AI sites that add at least 75 MW of load.
One thing is certain: OpenAI promises a local compact and an annual public report per campus. The sources consulted, however, do not give a date for the first report. It will also be necessary to know whether Oracle sites are covered and how state regulators will translate the blueprint into prices. File to follow…
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