Trump Discusses Bill with Senate Leader Thune to Lower Data Center Electricity Costs
President Donald Trump says he is working with Senate Majority Leader John Thune on legislation aimed at limiting the impact of data center expansion on household electricity bills. The House passed the Ratepayer Protection Act 417-3, but a Senate effort to advance the measure was blocked by Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich. Reuters
US, Sep 19 : President Donald Trump said Friday that he is discussing legislation with Senate Majority Leader John Thune that seeks to protect households from potential increases in electricity costs linked to the rapid expansion of data centers.
Trump told reporters that he was speaking with Thune about bringing the measure before the Senate, adding, “We’ll see what happens.”
The legislation, known as the Ratepayer Protection Act, would require state utility regulators to consider policies under which large electricity users, including data centers, would cover the additional infrastructure costs associated with their power needs. The measure is intended to reduce the risk of those costs being passed on to residential consumers and small businesses.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the bill on September 16 by a vote of 417-3, reflecting broad bipartisan support for addressing concerns over the growing electricity demand from data centers.
However, the legislation faced an obstacle in the Senate on Thursday. Republican Senator Jon Husted sought to advance the bill through unanimous consent, but Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich objected, preventing its immediate passage. Heinrich argued that the measure does not go far enough because it relies on states considering voluntary standards rather than establishing stronger requirements for large electricity users.
The debate comes as the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and data centers increases demand for electricity and raises questions about who should pay for new generation, transmission and other grid infrastructure.
Trump has continued to support data center development, describing the facilities as important to maintaining U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence. He has also compared their economic importance to oil over the coming decades.
At the same time, concerns over electricity prices have become an increasingly prominent part of the national discussion surrounding data center expansion. The White House has promoted a separate Ratepayer Protection Pledge under which participating data center operators and other industry groups commit to covering infrastructure costs associated with their projects.
The future of the House passed legislation now depends on whether Senate leaders can reach agreement on how to address the costs associated with the country’s expanding data center infrastructure.
