The House recently passed the Ratepayers Protection Act with a near-unanimous vote of 417-3, aimed at shielding consumers from energy price hikes linked to large data centers. This legislation shifts the financial responsibility of power upgrades from consumers to tech companies and establishes a federal standard for state utility regulators on energy infrastructure costs.
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul has enacted a one-year moratorium on data center construction, allowing local governments to devise appropriate regulations. New guidelines have also been released, suggesting that local areas negotiate payments of at least $1 million per megawatt of power for new data centers, amidst concerns over their significant energy and water demands and their potential environmental impacts.
