Ratepayer Protection Act
On the curated watchlist: tracked regardless of the classifier's relevance score.
Summary, written by a model from the CRS summary
Requires states and utilities to consider a standard that makes large-load customers, such as data centers of 100 MW or more, pay the full cost of grid upgrades needed to serve them, backed by financial assurances.
Model-rated AI relevance 60%: It directly targets the energy costs of data centers, which are AI infrastructure. (claude-opus-5-5, Oct 22, 2026)
Sponsored by
Gabe EvansRepublicanCOData as of: bills Oct 22, 2026 · votes Oct 21, 2026 · statements Oct 19, 2026. What changed
Progress
Introduced
Jun 18, 2026
Reported by committee
Jul 21, 2026
Passed House
Sep 16, 2026
Passed Senate
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Became law
—
Latest action · September 30, 2026
Motion to proceed to consideration of measure withdrawn in Senate. (CR S5199)
Recorded votes
Floor votes carry every member's position; committee tallies carry totals only.
Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 9340; A bill to amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish a Federal standard relating to the recovery of the full, incremental costs of upgrades that serve large-load customers, and for other purposes.
On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed · Rejected (cloture needs 60)
Ratepayer Protection Act
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended · Passed (suspension needs two-thirds)
Ratepayer Protection Act
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute · Energy and Commerce Committee
What members said
Releases that cite this bill first, then releases on the same topics.
Ricketts supports strengthening American AI innovation and export controls on chips to China while backing 'commonsense guardrails' for safety without stifling innovation.
Source ↗Sen. Graham criticizes Democrats for blocking the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would require data centers to pay for new energy infrastructure instead of passing costs to consumers.
Source ↗Crapo backed the Ratepayer Protection Act requiring AI data centers, not ordinary consumers, to bear the costs of their energy infrastructure.
Source ↗Baldwin voted against a bill she called too weak, pushing instead for a mandatory requirement that AI data centers pay their own energy costs rather than passing them to ratepayers.
Source ↗Fischer voted for the Ratepayer Protection Act to make data centers cover their own energy infrastructure costs and protect ratepayers.
Source ↗Grassley criticized Democrats for blocking the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would require data centers/AI companies to pay their own energy costs.
Source ↗Heinrich voted against the Ratepayer Protection Act as too weak and wants stronger legislation forcing AI data centers to pay their fair share of grid costs.
Source ↗Hickenlooper criticized the Ratepayer Protection Act as toothless and pushed for amendments requiring data centers/Big Tech to actually pay for grid upgrades.
Source ↗Bill data read 2026-10-22T14:48:01.167Z