Senate Sinks Data Center Energy Cost Bill Ahead of Midterms

The Senate sank a bill aimed at shielding homeowners from data center energy cost after Democrats argued it didn't do enough.Senators blocked the Ratepayer Protection Act on Wednesday. The bill's quick passage in the House followed widespread backlash against data center buildouts, which has emerged as a major issue for the midterms.Polls show broad discontent that the pace of data center construction could drive up power costs, raise land prices, and create environmental problems.The bill "requires state utility regulators and nonregulated utilities to consider implementing a standard" for utilities to bill data centers and large electric users. That standard, the bill says, should require those users to completely pay for the extra infrastructure their demand creates, as well as the impacts if they stop using the power. That way, the electric costs aren't passed down to the customer. The House passed the bill 417-3 earlier this month. But in the Senate, it was hit with opposition from Democrats who don't believe it does enough with the voluntary standard. Democrats have put forth their own bill, the Guaranteeing Rate Insulation from Data Centers (GRID) Act, which carries requirem...