Politics

House Passes Legislation Aimed At Curbing Rising Electricity Costs Caused By Data Centers

Sadrulk/Wikimedia Commons

The House passed legislation Tuesday aimed at fighting rising electricity costs caused by data centers as the midterm elections loom.

The bill passed 417-3 with all opposing votes coming from Democrats: Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Delia Ramirez of Illinois and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania.

The Ratepayer Protection Act intends to require states to consider implementing a federal standard to ensure data centers cover the costs of grid upgrades and rising electricity costs. Lawmakers faced pressure to lower energy costs as data centers drove up the costs, with some high concentration areas seeing power capacity spike over 1,000%, Reuters reported.

Overall U.S. electricity prices have risen roughly 27% since 2019, outpacing standard consumer inflation. Electric bills in high concentration states surged faster than the 6% national average, rising 13% in Virginia, 16% in Illinois and 12% in Ohio over a one-year time frame, according to CNBC.

The cost of living remains the top issue for voters in the 2026 midterm election cycle.

Data center construction rose by 57% from July 2025 to July while energy costs rise.

House leadership was hesitant to vote on the legislation before the midterms, given that data centers are a politically polarizing issue. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise argued that increased tax revenue from Meta’s $50 billion data center in Louisiana led every teacher in Richland Parish to receive a $50,000 bonus, according to Politico.

“There are tremendous benefits for communities who embrace data centers … They’re good customers, they’re good neighbors and studies prove that they don’t add to the cost of the grid,” Scalise said. “They’re paying their own way.”

Republican Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans and Democratic Florida Rep. Kathy Castor were the lead sponsors of the bill. The legislation included dozens of co-sponsors, including 35 Republicans and 7 Democrats, according to Congress.gov.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the legislation an “appropriate step forward” during a Monday press conference.

Republican Ohio Sen. Jon Husted sponsored the legislation in the Senate, where it has yet to pass.

The bipartisan legislation advanced unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in July.

“I’m encouraged by the momentum behind the Ratepayer Protection Act, and I’m hopeful we’ll see it come to the floor when Congress returns in September,” Evans told Politico in August.

Natural gas consumption used to generate electricity for U.S. data centers is projected to increase by 15 billion cubic feet per day through 2035, putting U.S. data centers on track to consume more natural gas than nearly every other country.

A New Jersey data center spilled an estimated 5,000 gallons of No. 2 diesel fuel into a nearby creek Friday.