House To Vote on Bill Protecting Homeowners From AI Data Center Power Costs

Lawmakers are poised to vote on a bill that would shield homeowners from higher utility costs brought by large data centers, marking the latest congressional move on the fraught subject of data center and artificial intelligence regulation.

The House is set to vote on the Ratepayer Protection Act on Wednesday. It would establish a federal standard recovering the costs that utilities make for upgrades that serve large-load users, like data centers. The bill's sudden ascendance on Congress' agenda shows how quickly data centers have rocketed into the spotlight as a major political issue this year.

It also demonstrates the fraught situation Congress faces in regulating artificial intelligence. President Donald Trump wants to see no guardrails on AI and has also shrugged off widespread public opposition to data center development.

Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) said on the House floor on Tuesday that the measure brings a "modest but important measure of accountability." It came after lawmakers spent the August recess hearing from constituents back home who are worried about data centers, he said.

"Electricity demand is growing at a pace not seen since World War II, and communities are rightly concerned about what this might mean for their daily lives," Guthrie said. "As this industry continues to develop, I want to be absolutely clear that we need it to develop here at home and not in China."

The bill to minimize data centers' impact on energy costs emerged from a field of about a half-dozen other AI- and data center-related bills that have failed to gain traction in Congress.

The Senate has a companion bill introduced by Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) and cosponsored by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). It's been in committee since July.

Ratepayer protection bill

The Ratepayer Protection Act started as a bipartisan effort between Reps. Gabe Evans (R-CO) and Kathy Castor (D-FL), who introduced it in June. But it rapidly gained sponsors in recent weeks as lawmakers face louder calls to rein in artificial intelligence.

The bill encourages state utility regulators to implement standards charging large-load electric users—those with peak electric demand over 100 megawatts. The rates those users would pay should help the utility recover the costs of the upgrades that their demand creates. It also puts the onus on large customers to offset the impacts if they ceases operation.

That way, the bill aims to shield homeowners from the costs of building out new power infrastructure intended to service large commercial clients.

"By and large, it has not been the data centers footing the bill; it's been our constituents," Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) said on the floor on Tuesday night. "It doesn't matter if you're in a red state or a blue state, your prices have gone up."

The bill has 42 cosponsors, overwhelmingly Republicans, having picked up 28 of them since the House convened for its summer recess in late July. It also picked up the support of the moderate Problem Solvers Caucus.

Evans said data centers provide economic growth. He also characterized "responsible development practices" as necessary to regulate the business. Still, he said the data center buildout in the U.S. is necessary to prevent foreign competitors from gaining an edge.

Artificial intelligence conundrum

Both chambers of Congress have other AI-related bills in front of them. They include a range of ideas: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) pitched a total moratorium on data center development. Others, like Rep. Ron Wyden (D-OR), pitched a tax on data centers to offset their impacts.

But those bills have not garnered support at the same speed as the Ratepayer Protection Act. And they face an uphill battle as Trump has repeatedly criticized calls for regulation of the industry.

"Concerning AI, when, in the History of Business, did anyone see the Leaders of an Industry call for Regulation that, if strongly implemented, will drive them into oblivion and bankruptcy?" Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday. "AI, and Data Centers, will be the Greatest Economic Development Engine in History ­—Bigger than Oil, Gold, Diamonds, or even the Internet."

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) echoed Trump's view. He called the weekend's headlines about AI as an existential threat to humanity a "hoax" to drum up fears before the midterms. Instead, the government will convene business leaders in AI to discuss the gamut of issues with the industry.

"They can self-police, they can self-regulate," Johnson said of tech companies at a press conference. "They don't need the government to tell them to slow it down."

But Pallone said the Ratepayer Protection Act "does not go far enough" to constrain how data center development affects the electric bills of homeowners. State and federal legislators must address generation and transmission costs as well, he said.

Broader energy moves

In the meantime, Congress has taken to improving the nation's energy generating capacity in a bid to offset the expected energy generation demands from hundreds of new data center projects.

McKinsey estimates the industry will pour $7 trillion into infrastructure by 2030, fueling economic growth that supporters tout. Goldman Sachs estimated that data center power demand will more than double from 2025 to 2027. But only about 50% to 60% of data center capacity will come online due to delays and cancellations, it said.

That's meant bipartisanship on renovating the nation's nuclear energy and modernizing technology to allow for more plants to be constructed. It's also meant the government is helping provide financing for more nuclear reactors to offset the power demands.

The Department of Energy also said in early September it would loan $1.9 billion to restart a nuclear power plant in Iowa. NextEra, the plant's owner, secured a deal with Google to use some of the plant's energy to power its data centers.

In July, the White House publicized a "ratepayer protection pledge," which highlights companies that would buy the power needed for their facilities. About 300 groups voluntarily signed, including major utilities like AEP Corp., Dominion Energy, and Duke Energy, and big users like Amazon, Meta, and Google.