House Bill to Offset Data Centers' Impact on Energy Costs Introduced
Lawmakers say utilities are increasingly passing infrastructure costs to households.
Lawmakers say utilities are increasingly passing infrastructure costs to households.
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2026 – A new House bill directs regulators to ensure data center developers cover the cost of the power infrastructure they require.
Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., introduced the Power for the People Act in the House on Thursday, joining a parallel Senate effort led in January by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
The pair of bills target the growing strain that energy-intensive data centers are placing on the electric grid and on ratepayers as utilities expand infrastructure to meet demand.
A filing details hundreds of outages, with AT&T saying it does not intend to repair affected copper lines.
The legislature approved 16 new positions to assist in fighting against high-profile mergers, citing the Nexstar-TEGNA merger.
Like Texas, Oregon made a partial award to Astound, with the ISP saying The Beaver State created ‘significant cost increases due to the network infrastructure build not being contiguous’
The company tells FCC modern alternatives carry ‘the same functionality'