Representative John Mannion Cosponsors the ‘Keep the Lights Local Act’ to Prohibit Foreign Ownership of American Utilities and Keep Ratepayer Dollars Invested at Home

September 21, 2026 Press Release SYRACUSE, NY - Representative John W. Mannion (NY-22) today announced that he is cosponsoring H.R. 5487, the Keep the Lights Local Act , legislation to prohibit foreign ownership of American public utilities. The bill would help protect ratepayers, strengthen accountability, and keep more of the money families pay through their monthly utility bills invested in American communities instead of supporting profits overseas. Representative John W. Mannion (NY-22) said, “Families in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley are paying too much to power their homes and businesses, and they shouldn’t be forced to subsidize the profits of foreign corporations. The Keep the Lights Local Act will help lower costs and keep more ratepayer dollars here at home - supporting grid reliability, infrastructure improvements, and local workers. Keeping control of energy production and transmission is essential to American energy and national security. I’ll keep fighting for affordable, reliable energy and real accountability for ratepayers.” Under current federal law, foreign corporations and foreign governments are not prohibited from owning public utility holding companies in the United States. The Keep the Lights Local Act would close that gap by barring foreign corporations and governments from owning American public utility holding companies. The legislation was introduced by Representative Josh Riley (NY-19). Mannion has made energy affordability and ratepayer protection a priority in Congress. He recently voted for the Ratepayer Protection Act to prevent data centers from shifting their electricity costs to families and small businesses, cosponsored legislation to end special federal tax breaks for data centers, and has called for data centers to mitigate impacts on local air quality, drinking water and water supplies. # # #