House passes 417-3 bill to make data centers — not consumers — pay for power grid upgrades

With midterm elections weeks away and voters increasingly angry about data centers sprouting in their neighborhoods, the House voted 417-3 on Wednesday to make tech companies — not electricity customers — pay for the grid upgrades that power large-scale AI facilities. The Ratepayer Protection Act is the first data center-related bill to clear the 119th Congress, and it now heads to a Senate that has yet to move any of its own data center legislation.

The bill amends existing federal energy law — the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, known as PURPA — to require state utility regulators to consider a new federal standard: any data center consuming 100 megawatts or more must cover the full incremental cost of new electricity generation, transmission lines, and distribution upgrades built to serve it. Companies would also have to post financial assurances so that if a project is canceled or relocated, communities are not left paying for infrastructure built on their behalf.

The legislation does not ban data centers, cap their expansion, or set direct regulatory limits on the industry. What it does is shift the cost question — a politically potent one as oil remains above $100 a barrel and inflation ranks as the top issue heading into Election Day.

Hardworking families should not have to subsidize the energy demands of data centers. America needs the infrastructure to lead the world in AI and outcompete Communist China, but we cannot have that growth at the expense of hardworking families, farmers, seniors, and small businesses.— Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., bill co-sponsor

My neighbors across Florida are grappling with skyrocketing electric bills. Ratepayers should not have to subsidize wealthy corporations' growing energy demands, especially from AI data centers.— Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., bill co-sponsor

GOP leaders brought the bill to the floor under a fast-track procedure called suspension of the rules, which bypasses committee markup but requires a two-thirds supermajority — a threshold the bill cleared easily. The only opposition came from progressive Reps. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Delia Ramirez of Illinois, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

The strongest action Congress can take right now is to pass a national moratorium on data centers and enact a prohibition on federal lands.— Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.

The near-unanimity of the vote, however, obscured widespread Democratic dissatisfaction with the bill's scope. Several members who voted yes were pointed in their criticism.

I'm going to vote yes, but it is truly the bare minimum. In fact, it's kind of pathetic that all we're going to do is make them pay their own energy costs.— Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas

It's not enough in any way, shape or form.— Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.

Americans across the country are furious about the unchecked development of data centers and artificial intelligence. Furious about what it means for their communities, for their jobs, or even for their lives. And I want to promise that this bill is not the end of our focus on these issues. It's only the beginning.— Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., ranking member, House Energy and Commerce Committee

The political urgency behind the bill is hard to miss. Evans, in his first term, is running in a race the Cook Political Report rates as a toss-up against Democratic state Rep. Manny Rutinel in Colorado. Several other Republicans facing competitive reelections signed on as co-sponsors in recent weeks. An NBC News Decision Desk Poll conducted by SurveyMonkey found that close to 70% of those surveyed are against having AI data centers built in their neighborhoods, including 45% who said they are strongly opposed.

The scale of the underlying energy problem gives the bill its urgency. The International Energy Agency projected last year that by the end of this decade, U.S. data centers could consume more than twice as much electricity as they did in 2024. Other estimates project data centers could account for more than 10% of total U.S. power demand by 2030.

AI companies have a serious responsibility to earn the trust of the communities they invest in and to be good neighbors. The Ratepayer Protection Act guarantees hardworking American families won't foot the bill for the buildout of AI infrastructure — or see their energy costs rise to pay for it.— House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

Trump has thrown his support behind the AI industry broadly and called on data center developers and tech firms to commit to building or buying their own power supply. The White House reports that hundreds of utility companies have agreed to the pledge, as have dozens of data center operators and major AI companies. Trump has also said that serious safety warnings about AI are a 'hoax,' a position that former Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, who voted yes on the bill, said undercuts any claim that Congress has addressed the AI issue.

This is the same party that has a president that says that the AI threat is a hoax, and so I am worried about just allowing this to be, 'Oh, we've solved it.'— Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.

The bill is the only AI-related legislation that was scheduled for a vote this week. With the House holding its final votes before the November 3 midterms on Wednesday evening and the Senate remaining in Washington only a few more weeks, little additional action on AI or data centers is expected before at least the post-election lame-duck session. The Senate has put forward its own data center legislation, but none of those bills have advanced.

Why it matters — If the Senate acts, the bill would be the first federal law to require AI data centers — rather than ordinary electricity customers — to pay for the grid expansions their facilities demand, setting a national precedent as data center power consumption is projected to surge dramatically by 2030.

Reported by nbcnews.com, cbsnews.com, noticias.foxnews.com, nytimes.com