Senators introduce first bipartisan effort to curb utility bill hikes related to data centers
Sens. Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday introduced the first bipartisan bill in Congress aimed at preventing data center power usage from spiking consumers’ electric bills.
The legislation, dubbed the “Guaranteeing Rate Insulation” or “GRID” Act, seeks to guarantee two things: no data-center related price increases for consumers’ utility bills, as well as ensuring first priority for grid access to everyday electric users. The bill also seeks to make new data center operators power their structures via off-grid sources, with a 10-year off-ramp for existing data centers.
The legislation would also mandate that data center operators publicly disclose current and future power usage.
“American families should not have to shoulder the burden of the rising electricity costs produced by data centers in Missouri and across the country,” Hawley, R-Mo., said in a statement. “This is unacceptable.”
In a separate statement, Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the legislation would stop big tech companies’ “AI-driven drain on family’s pocketbooks.”
“Families should not be forced to bankroll Big Tech’s electricity and infrastructure costs,” he said.
The senators’ bipartisan effort follows a couple of Democratic-led initiatives aimed at curbing the impact data centers have on everyday Americans’ utility bills. Last month, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., introduced his “Power for the People” Act, while Reps. Mike Levin, D-Calif., and Kathy Castor, D-Fla., introduced the “SHIELD Act” and Rep. Rob Menendez, D-N.J., introduced the “PRICE Act.” In December, Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, introduced another piece of legislation, titled the “Protecting Families from AI Data Center Energy Costs Act.”
Hawley and Blumenthal, who have worked together on a number of bipartisan initiatives, are wading into the policy fight weeks after President Donald Trump — who has made the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the data center buildout a core piece of his economic agenda — said his administration was working to ensure consumers would not face utility bill increases in conjunction.
“I never want Americans to pay higher Electricity bills because of Data Centers,” Trump posted to Truth Social last month, adding, “We are the ‘HOTTEST’ Country in the World, and Number One in AI. Data Centers are key to that boom, and keeping Americans FREE and SECURE but, the big Technology Companies who build them must ‘pay their own way.’”
State leaders are pushing on the issue, as well. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a potential 2028 presidential contender, announced a set of state data center guidelines this month and called on his legislature to pass them into law.
The tech industry is split over such efforts to compel the companies to pay more for power usage. Some data center operators, including Microsoft, have expressed willingness to spend more on electricity and are working to open their own independent power sources. Other companies have opposed the efforts, believing they already pay their fair share.
Rapid advancements in AI and data center development have leaders in both parties scrambling to navigate the political impacts ahead of the midterms and the next presidential election. At the grassroots level, some residents have pushed back against the data center buildout, which is needed to power AI, worried about such utility bill hikes and other issues tied to the electricity-hungry operations.
