House passes Ratepayer Protection Act on data center grid costs, 417-3

H.R. 9340, sponsored by Reps. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.) and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978. According to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, it sets a standard under which nonresidential customers with peak demand of 100 megawatts or more would cover the full cost of generation, transmission and distribution upgrades needed to serve them. States would have to consider the standard, not adopt it, Roll Call noted. The committee approved the bill 52-0 in July, and it passed under suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority.

The three no votes came from Democrats Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Delia Ramirez of Illinois and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. Tlaib said the bill would not meaningfully protect communities and called for a national moratorium on data centers, NBC News reported. Sen. Martin Heinrich, the Senate energy committee's top Democrat, criticized it as lacking enforcement, according to Roll Call.

Roll Call reported that Senate Majority Leader John Thune said passage before the November elections was possible but would likely need unanimous consent. Sen. Jon Husted, an Ohio Republican, sponsors the Senate version.