Bill makes data centers pay for grid upgrades they need.
S. 5028 — Ratepayer Protection Act · Filed by Jon Husted (R-OH) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 16, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
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What it does
The bill changes federal utility law. Big data centers that use 100 or more megawatts must pay for grid upgrades. They must also post money upfront to cover costs. States have 1 to 2 years to follow this rule. States can also say why they won't.
Who it affects
Data centers will pay more for grid upgrades. They will pass these costs to cloud companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Those companies will pass costs to regular people through higher fees.
One thing to notice
The bill makes data centers pay for grid upgrades upfront. These costs will reach regular people who use online services.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
5 cosponsors: 5 Republicans.
- Jul 16, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jul 16, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- data centers — Large buildings full of computers that store and process information for companies.
- grid upgrades — Work to make the electric power system stronger or bigger to handle more power.
- megawatts — A measure of how much electric power something uses at one time.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,238 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
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