The US Senate on Wednesday blocked a bipartisan bill meant to address public concern that the rapid growth of artificial intelligence data centres is pushing up household electricity bills. The measure failed 57 to 43, short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster, a procedural hurdle that can stall legislation indefinitely. Only four Democrats – Maggie Hassan, Amy Klobuchar, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock – joined Republicans in support. At least seven were needed.
The Ratepayer Protection Act would require state utility regulators to consider adopting a federal standard under which large power customers, such as data centres, pay rates covering the cost of the grid upgrades needed to serve them. It had passed the House of Representatives 417 to 3 earlier this month. Its sponsor, Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted, called it "the only game in town" for showing voters whose side lawmakers are on before the November midterm elections. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Democrats should show they are willing to "take yes for an answer".
Democrats said the bill was too weak. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called it "toothless" and "a fraud", arguing that making the standard optional "means zero" and that data centres should be required to cover their costs. Democrats pointed to an alternative from Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, which would direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue rules requiring large customers to pay for necessary grid upgrades. Some critics also saw the vote as a late Republican attempt to secure a legislative win before the election. Republicans counter that the bill sends regulators a clear message to act, and they hope to portray Democrats as obstructionists.
Politics is plainly a factor. Husted faces a difficult re-election fight in Ohio, a data centre hub, against Democratic challenger and former Sen. Sherrod Brown, whose campaign ads call Husted the "face of data centers". Husted promoted Ohio as a destination for data centres when he was lieutenant governor. The race is seen as important to control of the Senate, and Democrats were reportedly wary that passage could boost his prospects. Both chambers are expected to be out of session for all of October.
Why this matters: data centres, which supply the computing power behind AI, have become a significant campaign issue. There are as many as 5,400 in the US by some estimates, with Virginia and Texas leading, followed by California, Ohio and New York. Polling shows a majority of Americans are "extremely" or "very" concerned about their effect on electricity prices or local water supplies, and about six in ten support limiting new construction. President Donald Trump has embraced building more data centres. With the bill stalled, the dispute over who should pay for the grid upgrades they require remains unresolved.