01 / The Standard
A public, 100-point standard
Six categories, each scored by formula against defined evidence — so results can be checked and compared, not taken on trust.
AI data centers are driving up electricity demand for the first time in a generation. When they use more power than they pay for, the bill lands on ordinary families. PowerMark is the independent certification that an AI company is paying its own way.
Three things working together: a public standard, an independent audit, and a public list of the companies that pass it.
Six categories, each scored by formula against defined evidence — so results can be checked and compared, not taken on trust.
A company must score 70 of 100 and clear both gatekeepers: it can't certify if it raises retail rates or fails on customer safeguards. A signal regulators, customers, and consumers can trust.
Every certified company, listed with its scores across all six categories — so anyone can check who earned the mark and how they did.
AI data centers use enormous amounts of electricity. To pay for the grid upgrades they need, utility commissions are approving rate hikes — and in some regions, families already pay more each month to subsidize that growth.
PowerMark separates the companies paying their own way from the ones quietly shifting that cost onto everyone else. The seal means a company has:
The Ratepayer Protection Pledge is a voluntary commitment: signatories build or buy the power they consume, pay their negotiated rates whether or not they use the electricity, keep backup generation ready for emergencies, and hire in the communities where they build.
On its own, the Pledge has no teeth. PowerMark is the enforcement — an independent audit that verifies a company is actually keeping those commitments.
The technical basis for PowerMark certification and the annual Index. Public, versioned, and open for comment.
Six categories, 100 points. Two are gatekeepers: a company can't certify if its load raises retail rates above +5 basis points, or if it scores below 5 of 10 on Retail Customer Safeguards — no matter its total.
Every category is scored by formula and requires documented evidence and independent verification. Benchmark schedules are published as technical appendices, open for comment in v1.0.
The share of a company’s AI load served by dedicated, deliverable, reliable power. Scored as 30 × Covered Load Share × Quality Factor, where the Quality Factor runs from 1.00 for firm, dispatchable, peak-available supply down to 0.25 for poorly aligned supply. Building or securing real generation earns far more points than buying certificates.
Real, delivered ability to curtail or shift demand during grid stress. Scored as 20 × Peak Curtailable Share × Event Performance Rate, based on curtailment delivered during actual dispatch events.
The net effect of the company’s load on ordinary retail customers. Full points if the modeled rate impact on non-participating customers is at or below zero; declining above that. A cost impact above +5 basis points fails certification outright, whatever the total score.
Whether exported power helps the grid rather than worsening congestion. Scored as 10 × Useful Export Ratio: the share of exports delivered during high-value, non-congested hours. Power dumped into negative-price or congested intervals earns no credit.
Facility and compute efficiency, scored as 5 × PUE Score + 5 × Compute-per-kWh Score against a published benchmark schedule. Capped at 10 points, so a company can't use efficiency numbers to make up for poor grid behavior elsewhere.
Direct protection of customer bills and reliability: up to 4 points for tariff-backed bill protections or offsets, up to 3 for verified household efficiency investments, and up to 3 for outage-resilience and emergency backup support. A score below 5 fails certification.
Version 1.0 is open for public comment. If you see a problem with a formula, a threshold, or a benchmark schedule, tell us here. Every response is read and logged for the v1.1 revision.
PowerMark is run by an independent policy and research group. Its Board of Advisors reviews methodology, oversees auditor independence, and approves revisions to the Standard.
Advisors hold no equity in applicants, take no consulting fees from them during their term, and recuse themselves from any company they have a current relationship with. Conflict-of-interest disclosures are reviewed annually and published in the Index.
Being assembled from independent experts in utility regulation, grid operations, consumer protection, energy economics, and AI infrastructure. Members and affiliations will be published here as the Board is seated.
PowerMark publishes technical and policy research on AI energy accountability. The annual Index publishes when the first cohort closes.
Submission to certification runs eight to twelve weeks. Fees scale with revenue and data complexity; full pricing on request.
For press, research, and general inquiries. Companies seeking certification should start with the application above.