Data centers must pay full cost of grid upgrades they need

What it does

This bill changes federal utility law. Large data centers must pay the full cost of grid upgrades. Utilities must get money upfront or a promise to pay before building upgrades. States have one to two years to follow this rule. States can also explain why they will not.

Who it affects

Regular people who use electricity at home and small businesses benefit. They will not pay for grid upgrades built only for data centers. Data centers must now pay the full cost instead of spreading it to customers.

One thing to notice

The bill does not say how utilities should figure out the full cost. It does not say how to handle disagreements about the price.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

42 cosponsors: 35 Republicans, 7 Democrats.

• Jun 18, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jun 18, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy”
• Jun 24, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jul 21, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 52 - 0”
• Sep 15, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Guthrie moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

47 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 47 reports from Jun 2026 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $24,516,394 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 14 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 99% of bills with any report.

Gabe Evans, who sponsored the bill, received $1,485,467 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• American Petroleum Institute — $2,780,000 in 1 report
• American Chemistry Council — $2,570,000 in 1 report
• Duke Energy Corporation — $2,280,000 in 1 report
• Oracle Corporation — $2,000,000 in 1 report
• Edison Electric Institute — $1,689,193 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• data centers — Large buildings full of computers that store and process information for companies.
• grid upgrades — Work to make the electric system stronger or bigger to handle more power.
• utilities — Companies that provide electricity to homes and businesses.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.