Senate Blocks AI Data Center Cost Bill

The Senate blocked the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act, which passed the House 417-3 and sought to prevent households and small businesses from bearing the cost of grid upgrades needed by large AI data centers. The bill would have directed states to consider requiring facilities consuming at least 100 megawatts to cover incremental generation, transmission and distribution costs, but it would not have required states to adopt those rules or operators to pay the costs. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., objected that the bill lacked enforceable federal requirements and proposed the stricter GRID Savings Act, which would require large electricity users to pay for infrastructure tied to their demand; Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, blocked that proposal. The impasse comes as AI data-center construction accelerates, with capacity costs in the PJM region exceeding $21 billion and projections that unchecked costs could reach $163 billion by 2033. Lawmakers are seeking action before the midterm elections, as data-center expansion and rising electricity bills become politically contentious.