Tech companies would have to pay AI data center energy costs under bill moving in Congress

Chris Wright, US energy secretary, Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group Corp., and Howard Lutnick, US commerce secretary, take a photo with workers and local leaders following a news conference at the Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio, US, on Friday, March 20, 2026. SoftBank Group Corp. is working to deliver a data center-focused infrastructure project in Ohio so massive that Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son said it would channel $500 billion into a single campus. Brian Kaiser | Bloomberg | Getty Images The House of Representatives on Wednesday will begin consideration of a bill to force tech companies to pay for artificial intelligence's strain on the power grid, as voters across the country express dissatisfaction with data centers driving up utility costs . The House Energy and Commerce Committee energy subpanel is scheduled to debate and vote on the Ratepayer Protection Act , a bill that would require state utilities to consider creating a "large load standard" that would require data center builders to pay for upgrades to the grid needed to power them. The bill would codify parts of the White House's " Ratepayer Protection Pledge ." The bill represents one of the first attempts by Congress to force tech companies to pony up for data centers' massive electricity demand . …