Landsman, Beyer Introduce Bill to Protect Residents from Rising Costs Caused by AI Data Centers

Cincinnati, OH – Today, Congressman Greg Landsman (D-OH-01) and Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA-08) introduced a bill to protect residents and small businesses from rising electricity costs caused by artificial intelligence data centers.

The annual electricity consumption in the U.S. hit a record high in 2024 and is expected to keep rising. It’s driven in part by the growing demands for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

As a result, communities and small businesses are paying more in their electricity bills.

To address this, Congressman Landsman and Congressman Beyer introduced the Protecting Families from AI Data Center Energy Costs Act – legislation requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to hold a conference with major stakeholders on how to protect residents from increased costs.

FERC will be required to submit a report with detailed recommendations and best practices to ensure energy costs associated with AI data centers are not passed onto communities.

Congressman Landsman:

“Costs are increasing in every aspect of people’s lives – adding to the affordability crisis. Residents and small businesses in states like Ohio, which is home to nearly 200 data centers, shouldn’t be footing the bill to support them. There needs to be a plan to address this.”

Congressman Beyer:

“The rapid growth of data center construction to meet power demands from the proliferation of AI platforms is driving electricity prices up sharply in Virginia and across the country. The Administration has been slow to respond to these changes, and unfortunately Republican-passed legislation is slowing the construction of energy projects that we need to bring capacity online to meet this demand. Our bill would respond to this growing problem to generate policy changes that protect consumers and lower prices for the American people.”

Read the full bill text here.

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