House overwhelmingly passes bill to shield consumers from data center energy costs

The House voted 417 to 3 on Wednesday to pass the Ratepayer Protection Act, a bipartisan measure designed to keep ordinary Americans from absorbing the electricity costs of the nation's expanding data center infrastructure. The bill, which required a two-thirds majority to move forward under expedited procedures, now heads to the Senate.

The legislation targets a real and growing problem. As artificial intelligence companies race to build out massive computing facilities, electricity demand from data centers is accelerating faster than the nation's power generation capacity can keep pace. The International Energy Agency projected last year that U.S. data center electricity consumption could more than double between 2024 and 2030. Some analysts estimate these facilities could consume more than 10 percent of total American power demand by the end of the decade. That surge has already triggered pushback at the state and local level, where communities worry about grid strain and rising utility bills.

Republican Representative Gabe Evans of Colorado introduced the bill, which would require tech companies and large-scale data center operators to pay for the cost of new electricity generation infrastructure that serves their facilities, rather than allowing those expenses to flow through to ordinary ratepayers. The measure encourages state utility regulators to establish standards ensuring that large-load customers bear the financial burden of the infrastructure built to support them. Evans is running in a competitive reelection race, and several other Republicans facing tough campaigns have signed on as cosponsors in recent weeks, signaling that energy affordability and artificial intelligence have become central campaign issues heading into 2026.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, framed the vote as a matter of fairness. "AI companies have a serious responsibility to earn the trust of the communities they invest in and to be good neighbors," Johnson said in a statement. "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."

The bill has drawn support from both parties, though with notable reservations from some Democrats. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York called it "a step forward" but indicated the measure alone is insufficient. Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, described the legislation as "imperfect" and said it "only addresses one small part of the puzzle." Pallone acknowledged the broader frustration Americans are expressing about data center expansion and its effects on communities, jobs, and quality of life, and pledged that Democratic focus on these issues would extend well beyond this single bill.

Republican leadership emphasized the competitive stakes. Representative Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the legislation "takes action on behalf of our constituents so we may keep costs low while ensuring the U.S. leads in the next-generation economy." During floor debate, Guthrie stressed that the data center industry must develop domestically rather than relocating to China.

President Trump, who has generally supported the AI industry's expansion, has separately urged data center developers and tech firms to commit to building or purchasing their own power supply. The White House reports that hundreds of utility companies, dozens of data center operators, and major AI companies have signed a pledge to that effect. The Ratepayer Protection Act represents Congress's attempt to codify and enforce similar accountability through legislation, ensuring that the costs of powering the AI boom do not simply transfer to the families whose electricity bills already strain household budgets.