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OpenAI has pledged greater transparency in data center negotiations. The company said it would not use non-disclosure agreements with public officials discussing projects and would protect residents from the electricity costs associated with its facilities. Its National Community Compact announcement follows US mid-term elections in which voters backed several candidates seeking tighter AI oversight and restrictions on data center development.




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“We’ll pay the full cost of the electricity we use and the infrastructure needed to serve us. Before major spending begins, we’ll provide financial assurances so other customers are protected if a project is delayed, reduced, or canceled,” the AI lab said.




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OpenAI said it had been developing the commitments for months and that they were not a response to the election results. They come as local opposition creates obstacles for the industry’s expansion.




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What has OpenAI promised communities​




The compact includes commitments to disclose potential effects on surrounding communities, including noise, water consumption and energy demand. The pledge against nondisclosure agreements means public officials would not be required to sign confidentiality agreements during project negotiations.




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OpenAI also promised to reduce electricity consumption during peak periods, return power to the grid and establish local hiring targets where the available workforce permits. The company said it would publicly track and report progress.




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Chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane said OpenAI developed the commitments through discussions with residents and officials in Georgia, Ohio, Texas and other states.




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“Certainly a number of them are places that have been particularly impacted by the globalization of the last 20, 30 years, and for a lot of really good reasons these folks have been really burned by companies and others in the past,” Lehane said.




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Why is opposition to data centers significant​




At least 45 projects valued at $88 billion faced some form of local resistance in the second quarter of 2026, according to Data Center Watch . That opposition has increasingly disrupted development plans.




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This week’s mid-term election results added to the political pressure, with voters supporting candidates who have called for closer scrutiny of AI infrastructure. Lehane acknowledged that resistance could delay some OpenAI projects.




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“The scale that we are building at there’s just going to be a lot of types of things, questions at different levels, state level, local level, that you have to address,” he said. “People are certainly going to be mindful of how voters express themselves.”




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OpenAI says community input must shape projects​




Lehane said the company had also spoken with political candidates over several months about how data centers could benefit local communities. He did not identify those candidates.




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“If you’re going to go into a community and you’re going to want to build in that community, you do have to do it with the community and get the community input,” he said. “And the fact that people have expressed themselves at the ballot box in the way that they have, is an important message that people have to listen to and react to and respond to. This is how democracy is supposed to work.”




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