Data centers and electricity bills: the Ratepayer Protection Act
What they say
His office says he introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act on July 16, 2026, that the act passed the House on September 16, 2026, by 417 to 3, and that on September 17 he brought it to the Senate floor seeking passage by unanimous consent, which was blocked.
“The Ratepayer Protection Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 16, 2026, by an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 417-3.”
In their own words, dated
“Reps. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.) and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) introduced the companion bill to the Ratepayer Protection Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
What the record shows ·
He introduced S. 5028, the Ratepayer Protection Act, on July 16, 2026; it was referred to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It would add a standard to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act under which rates for data-center customers with a peak demand of 100 megawatts or more recover the full, incremental cost of the generation, transmission and distribution upgrades needed to serve them, a standard state regulators must consider and decide whether to adopt. The bill the House passed on September 16 was the House companion, H.R. 9340, sponsored by Representative Gabe Evans, on a motion to suspend the rules and pass it as amended, 417 to 3 (Roll Call 312). Its 100-megawatt threshold and its full-cost standard appear word for word in the House bill as passed, though the two texts are not identical. On September 17, 2026 he asked unanimous consent that the Senate take up H.R. 9340 and pass it; an objection was heard (Congressional Record, pages S4775 to S4776). Neither bill has passed the Senate.
Limit: The House passed its own bill of the same name, not his. His office's July release says Representatives Evans and Castor introduced the House companion, so his office has not hidden the difference, but "the Ratepayer Protection Act passed the House" describes a different bill number with overlapping, not identical, text. When he sought Senate passage, the bill he asked the Senate to pass was the House one, so his office's use of the name follows how he treats the House bill himself.