Hickenlooper Statement on Republicans Sham Effort to Shield Americans from Data Centers Driving Up Energy Costs

Democrats pushed to strengthen the so-called Ratepayer Protection Act and require data centers to pay for grid updates WASHINGTON – As the Senate considers the Ratepayer Protection Act, today U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper criticized the measure as lacking teeth after Republicans refused to work with Senate Democrats to amend the legislation to actually protect Americans from paying increased energy prices for the energy needs of data centers. Democrats remain ready to stop data centers from raising costs. “Data centers use large amounts of electricity. And families shouldn’t be forced to pay for their new infrastructure needs. Republicans say their bill fixes that. It doesn’t,” said Hickenlooper in a video statement today. “ It asks states to consider protections for ratepayers. It doesn’t require them. This isn’t complicated. If Big Tech wants a data center. Big Tech should pay for it. Congress needs to get serious and actually protect ratepayers.” Watch Senator Hickenlooper’s full video here . Americans have already paid $100 billion in additional energy costs because of the war in Iran. The so-called Rate Payer Protection Act only asks states to study the idea of requiring data centers to pay for necessary grid updates for their large energy demands. However, Senate Democrats pushed to include their provision that would have actually required the largest new power users to pay their fair share to connect. It would mandate data centers follow the same rules that power plants have followed for 20 years. Currently, power plants must go through a detailed review process, pay for the upgrades needed to connect safely and reliably, and put up financial commitments to show it’s serious about moving forward. ###