The House Voted 417-3. States Can Still Opt Out.
The House passed the Ratepayer Protection Act 417-3 on Sept 16, 2026, requiring AI data centers of 100 MW or more to pay for their own grid upgrades — but the bill only sets a federal standard states can choose to adopt, and it still needs Senate passage before becoming law.
Receipts
- primaryhttps://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9340
- alsohttps://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/ratepayer-protection-act-passes-house-with-strong-bipartisan-support
- alsohttps://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/119/hr9340
- alsohttps://www.utilitydive.com/news/house-passes-ratepayer-protection-bill-data-centers/830658/
- alsohttps://www.foxnews.com/politics/first-data-center-bill-clears-house-republicans-democrats-scramble-answers-affordability-energy
- alsohttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-passes-bill-shield-consumers-data-center-price-hikes-energy-rcna597683
- alsohttps://www.techtimes.com/articles/327645/20260917/house-voted-417-3-make-data-centers-pay-electricity-costs-states-can-still-say-no.htm
- alsohttps://www.fool.com/investing/2026/09/18/the-house-passes-bill-to-shield-consumers-from-data-center-costs-these-nuclear-stocks-should-win/
Flagged:Roll Call 312, 119th Congress 2nd Session: 417 Yea (R 210-0, D 206-3), 3 Nay, 0 Present, 12 Not Voting — confirmed via GovTrack and the House Energy & Commerce Committee's own release, both independent of and consistent with the press coverage below. H.R. 9340 amends PURPA (1978) to set a federal standard for full incremental cost-recovery on grid upgrades serving large-load (100MW+) customers; states may adopt it, none are required to, and the bill still needs Senate passage and a presidential signature — it is not yet law. Nuclear/diversified-generation utilities (e.g. Vistra, Constellation) are flagged by Motley Fool as likely beneficiaries if states do adopt the standard, but that is Fool's own forward-looking read, not a disclosed company figure, and is kept off the card itself for that reason.