Ricketts Expects Data Center Ratepayer Bill to Return After Election
A Senate bill intended to prevent households from paying for power infrastructure needed by large data centers failed to clear a procedural vote, 57-43. Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts said lawmakers may revisit the Ratepayer Protection Act after the midterm elections, while critics argued its voluntary standards would not adequately protect consumers.
The Ratepayer Protection Act fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance in the U.S. Senate, despite having previously passed the House by a 417-3 vote. The bill would direct utility regulators to consider requiring new data centers with at least 100 megawatts of peak demand to cover added generation, transmission and distribution costs, while providing safeguards if a facility scales back or relocates.
Sen. Pete Ricketts said he expects the legislation to return after the midterm elections and argued that Senate Democrats blocked it for political reasons. Sen. Martin Heinrich supported a stricter alternative that would require large electricity customers to pay for grid facilities built to serve them. Ricketts also said states and local communities should negotiate with data center developers over power infrastructure and water conservation, but the bill has not become law and no future Senate vote was scheduled.