No Harm Data Centers Act

This bill would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) sole authority to approve the retail electricity rates that covered utilities charge data centers using more than 50 megawatts at peak. Those rates would have to include the full costs of building or upgrading transmission, distribution, and generating facilities needed to connect data centers and keep the grid reliable as their demand grows, and utilities could not shift those costs to other customers. Electric cooperatives, government-owned utilities, the Tennessee Valley Authority, federal power marketing administrations, and the Texas ERCOT area would be excluded. Violations could bring civil penalties of up to $10 million per day. The bill would also make pre-dispute nondisclosure clauses about data center construction unenforceable against elected officials and direct the EPA to seek a National Academies study of data centers' environmental and public health effects.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Greg Landsman Democrat sponsor
• 1 cosponsors