President Donald Trump said Friday he is discussing with Senate Majority Leader John Thune a bill aimed at protecting households from rising electricity costs driven by data center expansion. The House of Representatives previously passed the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would require state regulators to consider the incremental costs of power infrastructure for large electricity users like data centers.
The debate over data center electricity costs highlights a growing tension between the demand for AI infrastructure and the impact on local energy grids and consumer prices, potentially influencing energy policy and corporate investment in the technology sector.
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.