PENNSYLVANIA — Last night, the U.S. House passed the Ratepayer Protection Act, a bill that does little to protect families from paying more for electricity as large data centers use more power. It only directs states to consider policies that address how the costs of serving large data centers are allocated.

“Pennsylvania families are already struggling with the cost of keeping the lights on,” said Rachele Fortier, Campaign Director for Affordable Pennsylvania. “If Congress wants to talk about protecting ratepayers, Pennsylvanians deserve to know what their representatives have done on the policies that affect their utility bills — not just what they say about data centers.”

The Republican Tax Law slashed clean energy tax credits and included corporate tax cuts that technology companies are using to get massive tax breaks for data centers and AI infrastructure. The Law is projected to raise electricity costs for Pennsylvania households by about $100 per year, even as taxpayers help subsidize the rapid expansion of energy-intensive data centers.

Northeastern Pennsylvania's Congressman Rob Bresnahan (PA-08) voted in support of the bill.

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Affordable Pennsylvania is a Pennsylvania organization focused on holding elected leaders accountable for the decisions they make and their impact on working families. We make sure Pennsylvanians have the facts about how federal policies and votes affect the cost of everyday life, including groceries, health care, child care, utilities and transportation.