The House of Representatives began considering on Wednesday legislation aimed at ensuring that technology companies bear the cost of the soaring electricity demand created by artificial intelligence data centers.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee's energy subcommittee was scheduled to debate and vote on the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would require state utilities to consider adopting a "large load standard" under which data center developers would pay for upgrades needed to serve their facilities, CNBC reported.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., and Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., seeks to prevent households and small businesses from shouldering the cost of new power generation, transmission lines and other infrastructure improvements required by energy-hungry computing facilities.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said families and local businesses should not pay for the expenses associated with AI-driven growth. Guthrie described the proposal as a bipartisan effort designed to ensure that costs are allocated according to demand.
Evans said Colorado residents, farmers and businesses should not have to cover expenses resulting from new electricity demand, while Castor said consumers needed protection from rising power bills linked to data center expansion.
Several companies have already signed the White House's Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which commits them to supporting the development of additional electricity generation needed to power their operations.
Major technology companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Elon Musk's xAI have become some of the largest builders and operators of data centers as competition in artificial intelligence intensifies. SoftBank and OpenAI-backed projects have also announced plans for massive computing campuses. In March, SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son joined Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Ohio to promote a proposed data center complex expected to require substantial power generation capacity.
The International Energy Agency warned earlier this year that electricity demand from data centers is expected to rise sharply because of AI applications. According to Bloomberg, utilities and regulators across several states have struggled to balance economic development with concerns about rising costs for residential customers. Communities in Virginia, Texas and Ohio have also raised concerns over land use and growing energy consumption linked to large computing facilities.
Public frustration over data centers has grown in recent months, particularly in areas where residents have blamed new facilities for higher electricity costs and increased pressure on local infrastructure. The Wall Street Journal reported that utilities and regulators have been exploring ways to ensure large industrial users pay a greater share of expenses tied to grid expansion.
The Ratepayer Protection Act incorporates elements of the White House's Ratepayer Protection Pledge and marks one of the first congressional efforts focused specifically on assigning the cost of AI-related energy demand to technology companies.
