Scoop: House tees up pre-election vote on curbing data center power bills
DALLAS — House Republican leadership will bring the Ratepayer Protection Act — bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing data centers from driving up Americans' electricity bills — to the House floor next week, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Republicans want to show voters they're taking rising electric bills — and the massive power demands of new data centers — seriously.
Democrats have been hammering GOP incumbents over high energy prices.The bipartisan bill, which will be brought up under suspension, would require state utility regulators to consider rules making data centers cover some of the costs of new power generation.Driving the news: Pressure has been growing on GOP leadership to move legislation on data centers before the election.
Data centers have become a focus of anti-AI sentiment, with 70% of Americans opposing construction in their area.Lawmakers in both parties have backed efforts to slow or restrict data center development amid concerns about electricity bills, strained power grids and water use.The Ratepayer Protection Act advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in July. Leadership had been previously non-committal about bringing it to the floor. The intrigue: The House vote will come as President Trump is moving in the opposite direction rhetorically, defending data center development amid the growing backlash.
President Trump said that communities in opposition to data centers are "backwards and poor" in an Aug. 31 Truth Social post."If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign," Trump wrote.Trump's comments have put him at odds with some Republicans who have sought to distance themselves from data centers as the issue becomes increasingly salient in the midterms.Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details about the legislation and about Republicans' positions on data centers.
