A bill aimed at keeping data center power costs off household electric bills failed to advance in the U.S. Senate Wednesday. Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts says he expects lawmakers to revisit the Ratepayer Protection Act after the midterm elections.
The measure received 57 votes in favor and 43 against, falling short of the 60 needed to clear a procedural hurdle. It previously passed the House 417–3.
Asked by KLIN News what happens next, Ricketts pointed to consideration after the election. “I expect that after the midterm elections, we will revisit this important piece of common-sense legislation to help protect American ratepayers,” he said during Wednesday’s reporter conference call.
The legislation would require utility regulators to consider standards assigning large data centers the added costs of power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure needed to serve them. States would retain flexibility to decide whether to adopt those protections.
According to a statement from Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, a cosponsor who supported advancing the bill, the standards would apply to new data centers with at least 100 megawatts of peak demand at a single facility. They also call for financial safeguards to keep other customers from absorbing infrastructure costs if a data center scales back or relocates.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., argues the bill’s voluntary approach would not adequately protect consumers. His proposed GRID Savings Act would require large electricity customers, including data centers, to pay for facilities needed to connect them to the grid.
Asked by KLIN News why he favored the bill over mandatory protections, Ricketts cited its broad House support and accused Senate Democrats of blocking it for political reasons. “So you take the House’s bill and you pass it, and you’ve got something that’s going to protect ratepayers,” he said. “The Democrats are simply playing politics.”
KLIN News also asked how the legislation would protect customers of public utilities such as Lincoln Electric System. Ricketts described a role for states and local communities in negotiating with data center developers but did not explain how LES would implement the proposed standards.
Ricketts said communities should negotiate terms before allowing data centers to be built, including arrangements addressing power infrastructure and water conservation. The legislation has not become law, and his remarks did not identify a date for another Senate vote.