WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives has delivered a strikingly bipartisan message to the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence industry: American families and small businesses should not be left holding the bill for the massive electricity infrastructure needed by giant data centers.
Lawmakers voted 417-3 on Wednesday, Sept. 16, to approve the Ratepayer Protection Act, H.R. 9340, sending the measure forward after it had already cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously, 52-0.
The legislation addresses one of the emerging economic questions surrounding the AI boom: When enormous technology facilities require new power plants, transmission equipment and other grid improvements, who should pay for those investments?
Under the bill, state utility regulators would be required to consider standards designed to ensure large-load customers bear the incremental costs associated with serving them. The legislation focuses on customers requiring 100 megawatts of electricity or more — a threshold that can encompass major data-center projects.
