The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved legislation Tuesday to make sure the proliferation of data centers doesn’t raise people’s electricity bills.
The Ratepayer Protection Act — H.R. 9340, sponsored by Reps. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.) and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) — would require states to consider adopting a federal standard directing data centers to pay the full cost of new generation and transmission upgrades needed to serve them. It sailed through committee, passing in a 52-0 vote.
The legislation has been a priority for Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie. At one point, the Kentucky Republican aimed to get the bill through the House ahead of the August recess. That is unlikely to happen with the chamber scheduled to leave before the week’s end.
Ahead of the committee markup, which began Monday evening, leaders narrowed the bill to apply specifically to data centers. Previously, the proposal applied to projects with a peak electricity demand of 100 megawatts or more.
