House Republicans Advance Bill Requiring Data Centers to Cover Grid Costs

House Republicans plan to bring the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act to the House floor next week, aiming to address concerns that data centers’ rapidly growing electricity demand could raise household utility bills. The bill would require state utility regulators to consider rules requiring data centers to cover some costs of new power generation and grid infrastructure needed to serve them. The measure, which cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee in July, is expected to receive a vote under suspension as lawmakers face growing political pressure over energy prices. Pennsylvania regulators are separately reviewing emergency load-control procedures and how costs from large computational customers should be allocated, amid concerns about grid reliability and PJM’s projected capacity shortfall.