Last week, Representative Veronica Escobar (D-TX) joined over 130 Democrats in supporting the Energy Bills Relief Act, which would make energy more affordable and reliable for consumers.
Led by the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) Clean Energy Deployment Task Force Co-Chairs and Reps. Mike Levin (D-CA) and Sean Casten (D-IL), this act expands access to cheaper clean energy and restores tax credits, while upgrading power grids.
Rep. Escobar said the bill takes a family and consumer-focused approach to energy policy that ensures Americans aren’t “on the hook” for higher energy costs imposed by projects like data centers.
“Hardworking Americans are already facing skyrocketing utility bills, so it’s no wonder rate payers are afraid of being saddled with utility cost increases that might come from energy-intensive data centers," Rep. Escobar said.
Over the past two months, Rep. Escobar has repeatedly called on companies like Meta to be more transparent about how new data centers in Texas could affect local energy costs for residents.
“Corporations have been unwilling to meaningfully engage with communities or be transparent about their data centers, so we can’t risk them passing on their costs to consumers as well,” she said. “This legislation provides guardrails to prevent that from happening.”
Rep. Casten added that this act is a direct response to rising energy costs under President Donald Trump’s administration, which have increased by 13% in the last year.
“We can point to any number of things that have driven those increases, but at the center of it is that our current energy policy prioritizes the interests of energy producers over the interests of energy consumers,” Rep. Casten said.
According to Rep. Casten, it is this act’s emphasis on increasing access to renewable energy that will change this.
“It lowers costs, increases reliability and helps provide a livable planet we can pass to our children and grandchildren,” Rep. Casten said.
Ultimately, Rep. Levin said the act aims to deliver broad financial relief to American families struggling with rising energy costs.
“This administration canceled clean energy projects that would have helped to meet rising demand, repealed the tax credits that were actually keeping costs down and left families holding the bill,” Rep. Levin said.
