House Set to Vote on Bill Requiring AI Data Centers to Cover Their Own Utility Costs

The House of Representatives could vote as early as Tuesday night on the Ratepayer Protection Act, a bipartisan bill that would prevent artificial intelligence data centers from passing infrastructure costs onto consumers, as public backlash against the facilities intensifies ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The legislation would establish standards that state regulators could choose to adopt, requiring AI data centers with a power demand of 100 megawatts or more to bear the costs of new power sources, transmission lines, and related infrastructure — rather than shifting those expenses to utility ratepayers.

Rep. Gabe Evans, a Colorado Republican who introduced the bill, framed the measure in straightforward terms. "The principle is commonsense: Those creating the new demand should be responsible for the costs associated with meeting that demand," Evans wrote in a Washington Reporter op-ed on Monday.

Evans co-introduced the legislation in June alongside Rep. Kathy Castor, a Florida Democrat. The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter has labeled both of their reelection races a "toss up," underscoring the political stakes driving the bill forward.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to bring the measure to the floor through a process known as suspension of the rules, a procedural mechanism used to expedite noncontroversial legislation. That process requires a two-thirds vote to pass.

"My neighbors across Florida are grappling with skyrocketing electric bills," Castor said in a statement from June. "Ratepayers should not have to subsidize wealthy corporations' growing energy demands, especially from AI data centers."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., voiced qualified support at a press conference Monday, calling the bill "a step forward," while adding that "more clearly needs to be done." Jeffries also called on Republicans to extend the House session beyond Thursday, when a seven-week recess ahead of the November 3 election is scheduled to begin, to address broader AI policy concerns.

Not everyone views the bill as adequate. Sara Chieffo, senior vice president of government affairs at the League of Conservation Voters, argued in a statement that the measure's directives to states are too weak to compel action. "State regulators could ultimately choose to ignore this bill," Chieffo said.

Mitch Jones, managing director of policy and litigation at Food & Water Watch, went further, contending the legislation would accelerate data center construction rather than curtail it. "If Congress truly intends to take the AI data center crisis seriously, it must reject this pointless legislation," Jones said in a statement on Monday.

The bill codifies portions of the White House's "Ratepayer Protection Pledge," which President Donald Trump released in March. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told reporters Tuesday that the private sector is capable of addressing the risks posed by advancing AI, a position consistent with Speaker Johnson's remarks on CNN's "State of the Union" over the weekend, in which he said tech companies — not Congress — bear primary responsibility for their products' safety.

The vote arrives amid a broader, cross-partisan grassroots movement opposing data center development around the country, which has become a notable issue in the 2026 cycle as Republicans defend narrow majorities in both chambers. While states and localities retain primary authority over individual projects, the House bill represents one of the more concrete federal responses to constituent concerns about the energy costs associated with AI infrastructure.

Broader congressional action on AI this week appears limited. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters Monday that he plans to introduce a separate AI "kill switch" bill requiring companies to build shutdown mechanisms for rogue technology, though no timeline for a vote on that measure has been announced.