Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.) was among the 52 members of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee who unanimously passed the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act (H.R. 9340) this week. 

The legislation directs utilities to protect American families and small businesses from increased electricity costs driven by data centers by requiring them to cover the full costs of service.  The bill also requires up front financial assurances to mitigate the risks of demand changing after grid investments are made. The bill now advances to the full House for consideration.

“No American should pay higher utility bills because of the infrastructure needed to serve new, large electricity users like data centers. Republicans and Democrats are united in this belief and support the commonsense principle: those who cause costs on the system must pay for those costs—not hardworking families, seniors on fixed incomes, or small businesses,” Fedorchak said. “North Dakota requires large-load customers to cover the costs they impose on the electric system, protecting existing ratepayers while supporting economic growth. That's a model the rest of the country should follow, and the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act advances this principle.” 

"We have met with numerous stakeholders, including the data center industry and big tech, state regulators, utilities, and others," said Chairman Guthrie. "But it has become clear that across the entire industry there is one entity uniquely positioned to stand up for families and communities who are the ones paying electricity bills-and that is this Committee, and our colleagues in Congress. The Ratepayer Protection Act will ensure that data centers pay their own way, instead of passing costs onto hardworking families. Thank you to Congressman Gabe Evans for leading this vital legislation that will protect Americans from rising electricity costs while ensuring the United States is positioned to win the race for AI dominance."

The Ratepayer Protection Act establishes a framework for states to evaluate policies that prevent costs from being shifted to existing ratepayers. Specifically, the bill:

• Requires state utility commissions to consider policies that allocate the costs of serving new large-load customers fairly.
   
• Reinforces the longstanding "cost causation" principle that customers creating the need for new infrastructure should bear those expenses.
   
• Helps protect residential customers and small businesses from subsidizing infrastructure built primarily to serve data centers and other large electricity users.
   
• Encourages transparent and predictable cost allocation for companies making significant investments in new facilities.

As a former member of the North Dakota Public Service Commission, Fedorchak has long advocated for policies that prevent costs from being shifted onto families while supporting responsible economic development. North Dakota has successfully implemented rate structures requiring large-load customers to cover costs they imposed on the electric system, leading to over $30 million in savings for customers. 

ICYMI: Fedorchak’s High-Capacity Grid Act passes the Energy and Commerce Committee.