Senate bill makes data centers pay

Sen. Adam Schiff said on May 19 that he would introduce legislation requiring large data centers to pay the full cost of connecting to the power grid, including interconnection studies and network upgrades. The proposal would apply to facilities with peak electricity demand above 50 megawatts, according to accounts of the bill. The measure would also direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to establish a formal load interconnection queue for those projects. The bill lands as federal energy officials and grid operators are warning that fast-growing server demand is colliding with transmission constraints, reserve margins and emergency planning. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on May 19 that server electricity use in commercial buildings could reach 22% to 33% of commercial-building electricity consumption by 2050, depending on the scenario. (consumeraffairs.com) The Department of Energy separately confirmed this week that PJM Interconnection can curtail some data-center loads in emergencies. ### Which costs would data centers have to cover? The proposal described by ConsumerAffairs and PYMNTS would require qualifying data centers to pay 100% of interconnection study costs and all network upgrade expenses tied to their projects. Those are costs that can arise when a large new load requires transmission or distribution changes before it can be served reliably. (eia.gov) The same reports said the bill is aimed at preventing those expenses from being shifted onto residential and business ratepayers. Schiff said in a statement carried by PYMNTS that his “Energy Cost Fairness and Reliability Act” would protect ratepayers from rising costs by making companies pay their share and fund needed modernization. (consumeraffairs.com) ### Why does the 50-megawatt threshold matter? The 50-megawatt cutoff captures the largest facilities, including many hyperscale AI and cloud data centers, according to PYMNTS. At that size, a single project can represent a major new source of electricity demand for a utility or regional grid operator. (pymnts.com) Congressional text for related Senate legislation introduced on Jan. 15 by Sen. Chris Van Hollen and other Democrats describes data-center demand as large, fast-growing and uncertain, and says households and businesses are subsidizing development through higher energy bills. That bill, S. 3682, is titled the “Power for the People Act of 2026.” (pymnts.com) ### What is a load interconnection queue? ConsumerAffairs said the proposal would direct FERC to set up a formal “load interconnection queue” similar to the process used for new power plants seeking grid access. That would create a structured federal process for reviewing very large new electricity loads rather than handling them through less standardized utility-by-utility arrangements. (congress.gov) Data Center Dynamics reported in January that Senate Democrats had already proposed legislation requiring grid operators to establish dedicated data-center load queues and data-center-specific rate classes. That earlier reporting points to a broader push in Washington to separate large data-center loads from ordinary customer planning. (consumeraffairs.com) ### What changed this week on the grid side? The U.S. Department of Energy issued an emergency order on May 18 allowing PJM to curtail data centers and other large loads with backup generation if needed before rolling blackouts, Utility Dive reported. PJM had asked for that authority because of hot weather and planned plant outages, and said it expected less than 5,800 megawatts of reserves during the May 18 peak. (datacenterdynamics.com) The Energy Information Administration said on May 19 that server consumption alone could rise to between 446 billion and 818 billion kilowatt-hours by 2050. In its high-demand case, server electricity use in 2050 would be more than 16 times 2020 levels. ### What happens next in Washington? The Senate bill will need committee and floor action before any requirements take effect. (utilitydive.com) If Congress advances a final measure, FERC would be the agency expected to write or implement the queue framework described in the proposal. (consumeraffairs.com) (eia.gov)