U.S. Democratic party members and senators Cory Booker and Chris Van Hollen have introduced a new legislation aimed at shifting the rising cost of powering data centers away from household electricity bills, and onto the companies driving the surge in demand.
The proposed Power for the People Act, responds to the rapid expansion of data centers tied to artificial intelligence and cloud computing. These facilities consume massive amounts of electricity and require expensive grid upgrades, costs that are increasingly passed on to consumers through higher utility rates.
The bill introduced on Jan 16, would require regulators to more precisely assign electricity and infrastructure costs to data centers, rather than spreading them across all ratepayers. It directs states to consider new rate classes for large data center customers and instructs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure that data centers pay for local transmission upgrades that would not be necessary without them.
According to a press release, data center growth is placing immense pressure on the PJM grid, the nation’s largest regional transmission organization, which serves 67 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C. According to recent analyses, consumers in the region have already paid billions for transmission upgrades and capacity costs driven largely by projected data center demand. By 2028, the average household in PJM could see monthly bills rise by about US$ 70 solely from higher capacity costs.
Senator Cory Booker, said, “The Power for the People Act is about fairness and shared progress. It ensures data centers pay for the costs of their own development, prioritizes the clean energy critical to protecting our public health, protects consumers from rising electricity bills, strengthens grid reliability, and keeps America at the cutting edge of innovation.”
Senator Van Hollen, said, “The principle behind this legislation is simple: the huge corporations building and running data centers should cover the costs of the energy they need – not push those costs onto the backs of consumers.”
Numerous other U.S senators have also voiced their support of the Power for the People Act to pass Congress.
Senator Tammy Duckworth, said, “This common sense bill would help ensure that data centers don’t pass along their operating costs to Americans’ monthly energy bills or jeopardize the grid—while also supporting the development and improvement of data centers across the country.”
Senator Peter Welch, said, “The data centers behind the AI boom are consuming more energy than ever before—that demand is only expected to grow. At the same time, energy prices are spiking across the country, saddling working families with higher utility bills and threatening the reliability of the grid.”
Senator Angela Alsobrooks, said, “Data centers are critical to our national security, job creation, and economic development, but we cannot subsidize the costs of these data centers with our energy bills – which are already way too high.”
Meanwhile civil society members and organizations have also stepped up advocacy for alleviating the pressure of sky high electricity bills on the common man.
Ben Winters, Director of AI and Privacy at the Consumer Federation of America, said, “This bill is a critical step in remedying this injustice that brings the very real issues of affordability and Big Tech abuse to the forefront.”
Olivia Wein, Senior Attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, said, “The added expense is particularly harmful for low-income households who already face impossible choices between paying the monthly electric bill and paying for food, medicine, and rent.”
David S. Lapp, Maryland People’s Counsel, said, “The Power for the People Act modernizes regulation to protect residential customers from subsidizing wealthy data centers, saving residential customers in Maryland and across the country from paying billions of dollars in electricity costs to support data center growth.”
Sarah Moskowitz, Executive Director at the Citizens Utility Board of Illinois, said, “These companies are among the wealthiest in the world, and it is simply unacceptable for everyday consumers to foot the bill for their energy guzzling. The Power for the People Act would rein these companies in and help restore balance to our energy system.”
Brian Lipman, Director for the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, said, “Without this legislation, residential customers will be unprotected from higher rates and potential blackouts and brownouts at peak times, while enabling data centers to plan responsibly. This bill is an important first step toward that goal.”
Bob Jenks, Executive Director of Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board, said, “Oregon is becoming a top destination for data center growth in the country and we have seen that growth in home power bills rising by more than 50 percent in five years.”
Jameson Tweedie, Public Advocate for the State of Delaware, said, “Data centers are transforming the energy sector at a speed and a scale unlike anything in decades. Individual data centers can have the energy needs of cities, impacting the energy system and the communities around them.”
Jackson Morris, Director, State Power Sector at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said, “This commonsense legislation will hold data centers accountable and make sure they are paying the real costs for all the power they are using. Power for the People is an important step in the right direction, and Congress should act on it pronto.”
Mike Jacobs, Senior Energy Manager at Union of Concerned Scientists, said, “The Power for the People Act pushes direct fixes to the regulatory shortcomings for data centers’ transmission upgrade costs, emphasizes the need to ensure reliable service, and prioritizes clean energy solutions to meet growing data center demand.”
Beyond cost allocation, the bill seeks to address reliability risks. Rapid load growth, combined with limited new generation, has pushed regional grids closer to their limits, increasing the risk of blackouts during periods of extreme heat or cold. The legislation would encourage data centers to bring new power generation and battery storage online alongside their facilities and to meet flexibility and clean energy requirements.