Rep. Smucker supports bill to protect ratepayers from high costs brought on by data centers
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a federal bill, the Ratepayer Protection Act, aimed at making data centers cover the costs of electrical grid upgrades instead of ratepayers. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker supported the legislation, emphasizing that data centers should pay their own way and communities should share in economic benefits.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Ratepayer Protection Act, a federal bill designed to shield energy customers from potential rate hikes caused by the growing demand for electricity from data centers. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, a Republican congressman from Lancaster County, joined a 417-3 majority in supporting the legislation.
The bill mandates that state utility commissions ensure major data centers are responsible for covering the costs associated with adding power generation capacity to the electrical grid, rather than these expenses being transferred to ratepayers. This initiative comes as data centers are projected to significantly increase their energy consumption, potentially doubling or tripling by 2028, according to a Congressional Research Report.
Rep. Smucker stated that while he believes the United States should lead in artificial intelligence, Congress must protect families and small businesses during this expansion. He emphasized the principle that data centers should be located in communities that choose to host them, provide economic benefits to those communities, and bear their own operational costs.