House Passes Bill To Ensure Data Centers Cover Their Own Energy Costs

 by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a measure put forward by Republicans that would provide a federal blueprint to ensure data centers pay for their use of local energy grids.

It was adopted in a 417-3 vote.

The legislation would impose new requirements that AI and other data centers - which draw huge amounts of electricity from local power grids, straining supplies and leading to utility bill shocks for households across the nation - make deals with local providers to cover "the full, incremental cost of any generation, transmission, or distribution upgrade necessary" to serve their energy needs.

Ahead of the vote, it was unclear whether the legislation could win the backing of progressive lawmakers, who have broadly expressed concerns that the legislation would not go far enough to tackle the issue in view of its reliance on voluntary action.

At the same time, the law was endorsed by the Problem Solvers Caucus, a powerful contingent of centrist lawmakers whose members helped introduce and champion the legislation.

"Economic growth should never depend upon shifting private costs onto working families. That principle is at the heart of the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act and of my work with families across Bucks and Montgomery Counties who are already feeling the strain of rising utility costs," wrote Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chair Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).

"We need energy infrastructure that supports American technology, but American families cannot be expected to foot the bill," said Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chair Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.).

Data centers are top of mind for many American voters this year.

The data centers used to power AI services like ChatGPT, Claude.ai, Grok, and others - aside from their extensive land requirements - require massive amounts of energy.

Estimates indicate that currently, data centers use about 4 percent of the U.S. electric grid, according to online energy shopping and consultation platform Electric Choice.

Drawing roughly 176 TWh (Terawatts) of electricity per year, the energy used to power these facilities could otherwise be used to power 16 million homes, according to Electric Choice.

The Energy Department and other analysts have estimated that share could skyrocket to 12 percent of the national power grid in the coming years.

Despite promises by many data centers to provide their own power, residents in areas where such centers have been built have reported spikes in their energy bills.

Anxiety over the possibility of such utility price jumps has driven many voters to be skeptical or outright hostile to the construction of such facilities in their area.

Likewise, cooling the computers that execute AI queries requires significant amounts of water, raising fears that energy might not be the only utility cost affected by the data centers.

Other residents living near data centers have reported that the facilities are noisy. According to these residents, the massive fan and cooling system used to keep the servers from overheating is loud enough to travel through walls and disturb sleep.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/house-passes-bill-ensure-data-centers-cover-their-own-energy-costs