US House Set to Vote on Bill Shielding Households from Data Center Power Costs

The US House of Representatives is expected to vote as soon as Wednesday on bipartisan legislation aimed at curbing electricity bill increases linked to the rapid expansion of data centers powering artificial intelligence, as officials across the country face mounting pressure to keep the cost of new power demand off ordinary households.

The Ratepayer Protection Act would require state utility regulators to consider whether large electricity users, including data centers, should bear the incremental costs of the power infrastructure needed to serve them. It was introduced by Representative Kathy Castor, a Democrat from Florida, and Gabe Evans, a Colorado Republican.

The measure has drawn support from both parties and is expected to clear the House — an uncommon point of agreement in Congress as policymakers try to balance economic growth, grid reliability and consumer affordability ahead of the midterm elections in November.

US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsed the bill at a press conference this week, describing it as an "appropriate step forward" while cautioning that "more clearly needs to be done."

Former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member Allison Clements said the measure was not transformative but carried symbolic weight. "This particular ratepayer bill is really one relatively modest step in the right direction," she said. "It holds value in that it's signaling, should it pass on a bipartisan basis, that Congress continues to be aligned with the priorities of protecting customers in the face of all of this new needed investment and demand growth."

Not all advocacy groups are satisfied. Food & Water Watch, which supports a nationwide pause on new data center development, said the legislation focuses narrowly on electricity costs while leaving broader concerns about data centers' effects on water resources, pollution and communities unaddressed.