Senate Democrat blocks House-passed bill to shield Americans from data center energy costs, proposing alternate measure

Key Points:

• A Republican-led bill called the Ratepayer Protection Act, aimed at preventing Americans from bearing energy costs related to data centers by making tech companies pay for new energy infrastructure, was blocked in the Senate by Democrat Sen. Martin Heinrich despite strong bipartisan support in the House.
• Sen. Heinrich argued the bill does not go far enough and promoted his own GRID Savings Act, which includes stronger measures to reduce energy prices, encourage community engagement, conserve local resources, and protect against pollution through clean energy and battery storage.
• GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno opposed Heinrich’s attempt to pass the GRID Savings Act, criticizing him for blocking the House-approved bill that Moreno said would provide immediate relief to consumers.
• The debate over data center energy costs has become a significant issue in the Ohio Senate race, with Sen. Jon Husted, a Republican and bill sponsor, facing criticism from his opponent for previous support of data centers.
• Husted called the blocked bill a meaningful bipartisan effort to protect Americans from higher electricity prices and expressed disappointment that the Senate missed the opportunity to pass it.