Congress demands data on data center water use—but won't act on it
H.R. 9019 — POWER Act · Filed by Chip Roy (R-TX) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced May 22, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill requires the Secretary of Energy to report annually to Congress on how much water and electricity data centers use, including which ones generate their own power and which buy from the grid. The reports must detail water sourcing from public systems, infrastructure connection costs, and who pays those costs. The bill applies only to data centers that qualify under a 2021 federal permitting executive order.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a reporting requirement tied to environmental and resource accountability. It does not regulate, subsidize, or restrict data centers—it only mandates disclosure of their water and energy use to Congress.
What the text implies
- The bill applies only to data centers qualifying under Executive Order 14318 (a 2021 federal permitting acceleration order), potentially excluding many large data centers not in that program and limiting the scope of transparency.
- No enforcement mechanism or penalty is specified if data centers fail to report or provide inaccurate data; compliance depends on voluntary disclosure by operators to the Secretary of Energy.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who it affects
The bill creates transparency about data center resource consumption, which serves the public interest by exposing potential subsidies and environmental impacts. However, the bill itself imposes no restrictions, remedies, or enforceable standards—it only mandates reporting.