Senate Democrats block Ratepayer Protection Act, drawing criticism from ND delegation
The Senate voted 57-43 against advancing the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would require large data center electricity users to cover the incremental costs of generation, transmission and distribution upgrades. North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven supports the bill, while Senate Democrats criticized it as largely symbolic because states would not be required to adopt its standards.
The U.S. Senate failed to advance the Ratepayer Protection Act in a 57-43 vote, short of the 60 votes required. The GOP-led bill, which passed the House 417-3, would establish a federal standard for large-load customers, including data centers with peak demand of at least 100 megawatts, to pay for infrastructure upgrades needed to serve them and provide financial assurances before construction.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee member and bill cosponsor, said the measure would protect families and small businesses from higher electricity costs caused by data center development. Democrats including Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer argued that the legislation offered insufficient or voluntary protections and would not provide meaningful relief to ratepayers.