Representative Tran Votes to Protect Families from Rising Utility Costs Associated with Data Centers

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Derek Tran’s (CA-45) voted in favor of H.R. 9340 , the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act , to protect Americans from the costs of energy and electrical grid upgrades required to build data centers.
“We have a responsibility to be mindful and fully aware of the risks associated with A.I., including rising utility costs for consumers and small business owners. As a former consumer protection attorney, I am deeply concerned that our communities are currently the ones who pay the price for new data centers. The Ratepayer Protection Act protects hardworking families from these costs by ensuring that the data centers are the ones who pay for energy and grid upgrades, not the other way around,” said Representative Tran.
The Ratepayer Protection Act was introduced by Representatives Kathy Castor (D-FL-14) and Gabe Evans (R-CO-08), and passed the House by a vote of 417 - 3. The bill requires state utility regulators to establish policies to ensure that community members don’t pay for the costs of building large-load customers, such as data centers, including building new power generation, transmission lines, and other upgrades.
Representative Tran is committed to safeguarding Southern California families from the negative impacts of Artificial Intelligence. On September 15, Representative Tran joined a letter with over 100 colleagues to Speaker Mike Johnson, requesting that the House stay in session and pursue urgent action to address the catastrophic risks posed by advanced artificial intelligence. On September 16, Representative Tran also helped to introduce the Reverse Big Ugly Tax Breaks for Data Centers Act , a bill to prevent data centers from taking advantage of tax cuts implemented by the Republican-led “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

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