Do data centers need a ‘national strategy that puts communities first’?
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ByChris Teale,
Managing Editor, Route Fifty
September 22, 2026 01:00 PM ET
The House passed a bill to mandate that state regulators have a strategy to have large consumers pay for their own power. But plenty of work lies ahead.
The U.S. House of Representatives took a big step last week toward addressing the impacts of data centers on communities, but lawmakers say much more must be done.
Representatives passed the Ratepayer Protection Act by an overwhelming majority last week before leaving Washington to campaign for the midterm elections. That bill, which faces an uncertain future in the Senate, would require state public utility commissions to consider forming a strategy for large data center operators to pay for their own power, rather than pass costs onto consumers.
The bill would amend a section of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act...
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