Miami
House approves bill to keep data center power expansion costs off consumer bills
The measure passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and now moves to the Senate. It aims to make tech companies, not households, cover new energy infrastructure tied to the AI-driven data center boom.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation designed to prevent consumers from bearing on their electricity bills the costs linked to the rapid expansion of data centers, CBS News Miami reported. The Ratepayer Protection Act cleared the chamber by a 417-3 vote and now heads to the Senate.
According to CBS News Miami, the bill was introduced by Colorado Republican Gabe Evans and seeks to require technology companies to pay for the added energy infrastructure needed to serve data centers rather than shifting those costs to ratepayers. It would also encourage state utility regulators to set standards ensuring that so-called large-load customers, including large-scale data centers, are charged for new electricity generation.
The vote came as lawmakers face growing pressure over rising energy costs, an issue some in Congress have tied in part to the fast-growing data center industry fueled by the artificial intelligence race.
CBS News Miami noted that as the data center sector expands faster than the country’s electricity generation capacity, concerns have grown about the strain it could place on the grid. The International Energy Agency estimated last year that U.S. data center electricity use could more than double from 2024 levels by the end of the decade. Other projections say the facilities could account for more than 10% of U.S. power demand by 2030.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the measure would ensure working families do not pay for AI infrastructure buildout or face higher energy costs because of it. From the Democratic side, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday that the legislation was a step forward, while arguing that much more still needs to be done.
Republican Brett Guthrie, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, backed the bill as a way to keep costs low for consumers while the United States seeks to lead the next-generation economy. During floor debate, he also argued that the industry’s development should happen domestically, not in China.
Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on that committee, described the legislation as imperfect and said it addresses only a small part of the broader issue. He also said there is public anger in communities around the country over unchecked data center and AI development, adding that the debate is only beginning.
CBS News Miami added that Donald Trump, who has largely supported the AI industry, has urged data center developers and tech firms to commit to building or purchasing their own power supply. The White House says hundreds of utility companies, along with dozens of data center operators and major AI firms, have joined that pledge.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
