House Energy and Commerce Republicans will consider legislation aimed at shielding consumers from electricity rate hikes tied to surging data center demand, marking the first time the party’s leadership has rallied around concrete proposals to address the issue.
Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and other Republicans have previously questioned whether federal legislation on data centers is necessary, given that many related issues fall under state and local jurisdiction.
But the announcement of an “AI and the Grid” legislative hearing next week signals a shift toward a more active role for Congress — one many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been demanding.
“It’s clearly interstate commerce that we have to look at where the federal action should be,” Guthrie said of data centers. “We want to make sure people don’t pay more for their personal electricity because a data center locates in their community.”
