House to vote on bill to rein in AI data center utility costs

The House could vote as early as Tuesday night on a bill that aims to curb data center -related utility bill rate hikes, as backlash to the proliferating facilities grows ahead of the 2026 midterm election . The bipartisan bill — dubbed the Ratepayer Protection Act — would establish standards that state regulators could adopt to require artificial intelligence data centers with a demand of 100 megawatts or more to cover the costs of building new power sources, transmission lines and other infrastructure, rather than passing those costs down to consumers. "The principle is commonsense: Those creating the new demand should be responsible for the costs associated with meeting that demand," the bill sponsor Rep.