Senate roadblock sparks new competition over data center bills

Por Nico Portuondo, Amelia Davidson and Pavan Acharya — POLITICO – TOP Stories

A House-passed bill aimed at shielding Americans from rising energy costs from data centers has been put on ice for now in the Senate — and lawmakers are already jockeying to push their own alternative measures on the hot button issue.

Supporters had hoped the Ratepayer Protection Act — a bipartisan measure passed by the House Wednesday to pressure states to require tech companies to pay for new power infrastructure for data centers — would reach President Donald Trump’s desk quickly. But those hopes were dashed Thursday after Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) objected to Sen. Jon Husted’s (R-Ohio) unanimous consent request.

Now, data-center focused senators are seeing that failure as an opening.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) pitched their GRID Act in a Thursday letter to Energy and Natural Resources leaders, shared exclusively with POLITICO.

“There is bipartisan consensus that the federal government must act to protect consumers from these high costs,” Blumenthal and Hawley wrote. “To stop consumers from being forced to bankroll Big Tech’s electricity and infrastructure costs, we respectfully request a hearing and markup on the GRID Act.”

Lawmakers now face a shrinking window to advance legislation addressing the potential costs of the data center boom before the end of the year. Senate Majority Leader John Thune did not rule out the Senate still voting on the Ratepayer Protection Act before the midterms, but noted needed buy-in from Democrats.

“It depends on next week and how quickly we move [on other votes],” Thune said “You know, it would take some cooperation.”

Husted and other vulnerable GOP frontliners were hoping to pass the bill as they face a deluge of attack ads for supporting data center projects that many voters associate with skyrocketing electricity bills. Democrats saw the bill as merely providing their opponents with political cover, with Democratic Whip Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) calling it a “political rescue bill for the senator from Ohio.”

Republicans, however, are hoping to turn the tables on Democrats for not supporting the only data center bill that could pass Congress before the election.

“They own the issue now,” Husted told reporters after the vote. “They own the issue of higher electricity costs in this country because they’re objecting to the very piece of legislation that could have driven down those costs.”

Competing proposals

Should Congress move on from the Ratepayer Protection Act, Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) will play a pivotal role in deciding on the alternative. Numerous data center proposals have piled up in his committee over the past months. His office did not respond to request for comment on next steps.

Blumenthal and Hawley’s bill, which the bipartisan duo introduced earlier this year, takes a far more aggressive stance against data centers than the Ratepayer Protection Act. It mandates that new data centers use power sources separate from the existing electric grid, and gives existing data centers 10 years to shift to independent power sources.

ENR ranking member Heinrich, for his part, has his own bill — the GRID Savings Act. It would direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue rules for large electricity customers to pay for certain grid upgrades when they connect to the power network, while incentivizing hyperscalers to voluntarily fund upgrades to the transmission system.

“Rather than voluntary pledges, or suggestions to states, Congress needs to pass real legislation with real teeth,” Heinrich said during his floor remarks, objecting to the measure.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is also hoping to pass his Decentralized Access to Technology Alternatives (DATA) Act, which would allow data centers to be exempted from power regulations if they create their own power and transmission systems that are not connected to the grid.

And Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) is pushing his bill, the Power for the People Act, which would prevent data center costs from being passed on to households and small businesses. That, along with Heinrich’s, may have a better chance of consideration next year if Democrats win control of Congress.

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), who sits on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said that any related data center legislation the Senate could move on this year would have to be “non-political.”

“Somebody who’s been so pro-data centers suddenly coming out with a landmark, ‘We’re going to stop them in their tracks’ — I think that’s problematic,” Hickenlooper told POLITICO, referencing Husted’s push.

Jordain Carney contributed to this report.

Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories