Evans’ Bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act Set for House Vote

September 11, 2026 Press Release WASHINGTON — Gabe Evans’ bipartisan legislation protecting ratepayers from rising costs associated with the increased energy demand will receive a vote next week — marking one of the final bills to be considered by the House prior to the midterm elections. The bill ensures American families are not left footing the bill for the grid upgrades and new energy generation required to operate large data centers. More specifically, it requires state utility regulators, like the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, to consider implementing rules for large-load data centers and hyperscalers to cover the full costs of power generation, transmission lines, and other energy infrastructure upgrades needed to meet their immense energy demand. Without this bill, families and small businesses in communities where data center development occurs could see higher electricity bills at the end of every month. The Ratepayer Protection Act was introduced amid our nation’s increasing energy needs and heightened scrutiny regarding how data centers affect consumer costs. The legislation has gained significant bipartisan support with 41 cosponsors in the House and it unanimously passed the Energy and Commerce Committee in July by a vote of 52-0. “This bill coming to the House Floor proves that House Republicans are responding to the needs of the American people. As the United States competes to win the global AI race and outcompete adversaries like Communist China, we must ensure that growth does not come at the expense of hardworking families. I’m proud to lead the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act to  keep energy affordable and ensure American innovation can move forward without leaving families and small businesses to foot the bill.” — Congressman Gabe Evans Background If enacted, the legislation would establish a federal standard for state regulators to consider when reviewing proposals for new large-load customers with an electricity demand of 100 megawatts or more to come onto the grid. The bill recommends: Requiring financial assurances that large-load customers will pay for the generation, transmission, and other infrastructure necessary to serve their demand, preventing those costs from being shifted onto families and local businesses through higher electricity rates. Recovering the full incremental cost of grid upgrades from the large-load customer over time through special rate structures or other agreements, ensuring utilities and existing ratepayers are not left paying for infrastructure if a customer later scales back operations or leaves the system. The Ratepayer Protection Act builds on the principles of President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, under which major data center developers, utilities, and governors committed to covering the full energy and infrastructure costs associated with new data center development. Read the full text here . Issues : Congress Economy Energy