Who’s Going to Pay Your Rising Electricity Bill? Congressional Lawmakers Say Data Centers

During a Subcommittee on Energy hearing this week in Washington, D.C., members of Congress weighed the costs and benefits of several bills that would help meet growing power demands while protecting ratepayers.

The hearing addressed four pieces of legislation. One of them was the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would require states to implement policies to protect American households from paying for the expansion of data centers through their energy costs.

Representative Craig Goldman (R-TX) said this is especially a concern among Texans.

“Many of my constituents in Texas are concerned that their electric bills could rise because of the rapid growth of AI data centers,” Rep. Goldman said.

Rep. Goldman asked if Congress should require large companies to cover the full cost of the upgrades needed to serve them. Nick Myers, chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission, said he was unsure.

“I think the states are already well down the path of doing that,” he said. “I don’t see a problem with this particular act. I just don't know how effective it will be if we are already going down that route.”

However, Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) is skeptical that these data centers would be willing to cover these costs. According to Nelson Peeler, senior vice president and chief transmission officer for Duke Energy, they are.

“Large load customers [data centers] have voiced willingness to pay their share,” Peeler said, adding that the only issue might be estimating the cost-impact nationwide, as it varies with each state. “Not the concept of ‘should they pay’ or ‘will they pay,’ it’s the details.”

Rep. Weber questioned how these data centers wold be held to these promised payments, especially when working with localities. He called the agreements made between the two “piecrust promises,” as they can be easily made and easily broken.

Tom Falcone, president of the Large Public Power Council, said the key will be getting these agreements in writing.

“The most important thing is that they put those promises into a financial contract and guarantee them,” Falcone said. “Otherwise, they are meaningless.”