News

House Committee Advances Data Center Energy Bill

July 28, 2026

The House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously advanced the Rate Payer Protection Act (H.R. 9340) last week. 

Why it matters: We previously covered subcommittee action on this bill, which is intended to shift the cost of utility grid upgrades to large power users. 

  • The action is one of the first federal legislative efforts to address growing voter concerns and backlash against data centers and utility prices. It largely mirrors President Trump’s Rate Payer Protection Pledge. 
  • The bill advanced 52-0.

Go deeper: Ahead of the committee markup, the legislation was narrowed to apply only to data centers. Originally it would have targeted all power uses above 100 megawatts. 

  • If enacted the bill would require state regulatory commissions to consider establishing a large-load standard to provide that a rate charged to a large-load customer shall recover the full, incremental cost of any generation, transmission, or distribution upgrade necessary to serve the load of such customer and to provide for financial assurances to cover such upgrades.
  • Even if the federal bill becomes law, states could choose to enact or not enact the policy. 
  • Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) introduced a companion bill S. 5028. Husted is in a tough reelection fight where data centers have been featured in attack ads.

What they’re saying: While Republicans and Democrats supported the bill, there were clear differences on how far federal efforts should go. 

Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) opposes a blanket moratorium and urged balance between A.I. innovation and costs: 

Our communities are focused this Congress on winning the race to AI dominance while securing our grid. But to help ensure that our communities are not paying for the associated electricity costs of the new data centers, I’m glad we could find bipartisan support for the Ratepayer Protection Act.
Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who recently called for a moratorium on data center development, urged there was more to be done. 
The bills before us today are a good start in addressing the impact that data centers have on our power bills, but they don’t go far enough to ensure that big tech and other data center owners fully pay for the energy use and demand that they create.

What’s next: The House is out until August 31, but it could attempt to vote on the legislation before the election break in October. 

  • If Democrats take control of the House, Pallone would likely become chairman of the committee and have significant control over new legislation focused on data centers. 
  • Even if H.R. 9340 becomes law, the continued political focus will likely remain. 

Contact David McCarthy (dmccarthy@crefc.org) with questions.

Contact 

David McCarthy
Managing Director,
Chief Lobbyist, Head of Legislative Affairs
202.448.0855
dmccarthy@crefc.org
The information provided herein is general in nature and for educational purposes only. CRE Finance Council makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, validity, usefulness, or suitability of the information provided. The information should not be relied upon or interpreted as legal, financial, tax, accounting, investment, commercial or other advice, and CRE Finance Council disclaims all liability for any such reliance. © 2026 CRE Finance Council. All rights reserved.

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