Sen. Jon Husted’s (R-OH) effort to unanimously pass a bill that would urge states to consider forcing tech companies to cover increased electricity costs associated with data centers was blocked by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), with the Democrat arguing that the legislation does not go far enough.
\n\nElectricity prices jumped nearly 7 percent year over year in 2025 for American households, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis. Prices are expected to continue rising, as data centers make up 40 percent of the growth in demand, the bank said.
\n\nThe Ratepayer Protection Act stalled in the Senate on Thursday just a day after it passed the House 417-3, aimed at having states hold hearings about potentially making companies behind the artificial intelligence (AI) data centers sprouting up across the country pay up, but the bill would not actually force states to enact any such rules.
\n\nBefore Heinrich’s objection to the proposed unanimous consent, Husted argued that the bill “would require state utility regulators to consider standards ensuring that large load customers pay the full incremental cost of the infrastructure needed to serve them.”
\n\n“This is how we make sure American families are not left footing the bill for energy infrastructure required…
Original source: https://www.breitbart.com/economy/
