Scoop: Hawley circulating data center costs bill
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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is shopping a bill around Congress that would ensure the cost of data centers' energy use is not passed on to consumers, per a summary of the bill obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: Hawley, who's been outspoken about AI dangers and consumer costs, wants to codify President Trump's pledge last month to not let the proliferation of AI data centers make electricity bills rise.
Driving the news: Hawley is circulating and plans to introduce a bill called the Guaranteeing Rate Insulation from Data Centers Act. Per the summary, it would:
- Guarantee no increase in consumer utility prices from data centers.
- Require new data centers to use energy "from power generation sources that are separate from the grid."
- Guarantee consumers first priority on the electrical grid.
- Require a 10-year off-ramp for data centers to find alternate power sources and transparency requirements around utility usage.
Between the lines: There is major political pressure on both sides of the aisle to make tech companies pay for surging power costs, rather than passing them onto customers.
The big picture: Hawley would be among the first congressional Republicans to push legislation on this topic.
- There are other bills in the Senate addressing data centers and AI, including the Power for the People Act from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and the DATA Act from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).
- In the House, there's the Stopping Hikes in Electricity from Large Load Demands (SHIELD) Act from Reps. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), and another set of bills focusing on pricing and transparency from Rep. Bob Menendez Jr. (D-N.J.) and Greg Casar (D-Texas).
