Key facts
- President Donald Trump is discussing a bill to address electricity costs from data centers with Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
- The Ratepayer Protection Act, passed by the House, requires state regulators to consider incremental costs for large electricity users.
- Senator Martin Heinrich blocked an attempt to pass the bill quickly in the Senate.
- Heinrich stated the bill did not go far enough by relying on voluntary commitments.
- A poll found 11% of Americans would support an AI data center in their community.
President Donald Trump said on Friday he is in discussions with Senate Majority Leader John Thune regarding a bill designed to shield households from increased electricity costs stemming from the expansion of data centers. The surge in power demand from data centers has raised concerns among constituents about rising electricity prices.
The House of Representatives, with a Republican majority, previously approved the Ratepayer Protection Act by a vote of 417 to 3. This legislation mandates that state utility regulators assess whether significant electricity consumers, such as data centers, should be responsible for the additional costs associated with power infrastructure built to serve them.
However, an effort by Senate Republicans to expedite the bill's passage failed on Thursday. Senator Martin Heinrich, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, objected to the proposal after its sponsor, Republican Senator Jon Husted, sought unanimous consent for a vote without a formal roll call. Heinrich argued that the bill was insufficient due to its reliance on voluntary agreements between states and data center developers.
Trump has expressed strong support for data center development, viewing it as crucial for leadership in artificial intelligence. He recently stated that data centers contribute to the wealth of individuals and states, referring to them as the "oil of the next 20, 25 years." Despite this, a recent poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst indicated that only 11% of Americans would support the construction of an AI data center in their local community.