US Senate blocks bill to address data center costs
XLU•The Senate voted 57-43 to advance the Ratepayer Protection Act, short of the 60 votes needed to clear a procedural hurdle. The bill would have required state utility regulators to consider whether large electricity users, including data centers, should bear incremental power infrastructure costs.
1. Senate vote
The Senate blocked the Ratepayer Protection Act on Wednesday after voting 57-43 to advance it, short of the 60 votes required. The legislation would have required state utility regulators to consider whether large electricity users, including data centers, should pay incremental costs for power infrastructure built to serve them.
2. Political debate
Democrats said the bill did not go far enough to protect consumers from rising electricity bills. The House passed the measure 417-3 on September 16. Democrats have proposed the GRID Savings Act, which would require large data centers to pay the full cost of grid upgrades needed to serve them.
