Microsoft is promising to cover the costs of electricity needed to power its rapidly growing fleet of data centers in suburban and rural communities across the US. In a speech on Tuesday, Brad Smith, the president and vice chair of the Big Tech giant, said that going forward, Microsoft will "pay utility rates that are high enough to cover our electricity costs." It's a bold pledge to make at a time when AI is fueling a historic surge in demand for power in the US, and electric bills are surging