Data centers must pay for their own power grid upgrades.

What it does

This bill changes federal utility law. Big data centers use 100 or more megawatts of power. They must pay the full cost of grid upgrades they need. Data centers must put down money upfront before utilities build those upgrades. States have one to two years to follow this rule or say why they will not.

Who it affects

Regular people and small businesses pay electric bills. They will not have to pay for grid upgrades built for data centers. Data centers will have to pay those costs themselves instead.

One thing to notice

Data centers may have to spend more money upfront. They may not expand as fast in places with old grids or expensive upgrades.

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”
• Sep 16, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required)…”

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 $1,580,467 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 — Big buildings full of computers that store and process information for companies.
• megawatts — Units that measure how much electric power something uses.
• grid upgrades — Work to make the power system stronger or bigger so it can handle more electricity.
• 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.