WASHINGTON — The Senate blocked the Ratepayer Protection Act on a 57-43 vote, three votes short of the 60 needed to advance debate. The bipartisan House bill, passed 417-3 on Sept. 16, would require data centers consuming 100 megawatts or more to pay for their own generation, transmission lines, and system upgrades.
Representative Gabe Evans (R-CO) and Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL) co-sponsored the measure. States would have one year to begin implementing the requirement and two years to finalize it.
"Families, farmers, and small businesses in Colorado should not be compelled to cover the costs associated with new power generation," Evans said. Most House Democrats supported the principle during the initial vote.
Residential electricity prices are projected to reach 18.2 cents per kilowatt-hour this year, a 5.2 percent increase from 17.3 cents in 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration. The agency attributes record electricity consumption to data center development. The electricity index climbed 3.8 percent over the 12 months ending in August, outpacing the 3.4 percent overall inflation rate.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) led the opposition, calling the House bill "toothless" and "a fraud" and rallying his party to block it.
Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced an alternative on Aug. 3 that would apply to data loads above 150 megawatts—a higher threshold that would cover fewer facilities than the House measure.
Democrats also blocked fast-track passage the day after the House passed the bill. Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) publicly accused Senator Heinrich of attempting to undermine Senator Jon Husted's (R-OH) reelection campaign. Senator Husted, who sponsored the Senate version, said after the vote: "Now they own it."
Only four Democrats voted to advance the bill: Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.). The vote marks the second time in two weeks that Senate Democrats blocked the measure, giving Republicans a campaign argument on rising household energy costs ahead of the midterm elections.
