Senator Markey Leads Colleagues in Urging Federal Energy Regulator to Prevent Data Centers from Dramatically Hiking Energy Costs for American Families

Letter Text (PDF)

Washington (November 13, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and the Commerce, Science, and Technology Committee, today wrote to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chair Laura Swett, urging FERC to ensure that increased and projected energy demand from data centers does not result in unjust or unreasonable rate hikes for American households. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) cosigned the letter.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptomining are fueling a rising demand for energy, as more massive, energy-intensive data centers are planned and brought online in the United States. Over the next three years, AI and cryptomining processors could triple their electricity consumption, adding more than 10,000 megawatts of demand annually. Prompted by projections like these - many of which rely on uncertain and speculative data center proposals - utilities and transmission planning regions are spending billions to upgrade the grid to meet demand. Many of these costs are then passed on to ratepayers through higher monthly bills. Under the Federal Power Act, FERC is obligated to ensure that utilities and transmission planning regions maintain just and reasonable rates that are neither discriminatory nor preferential.

In the letter, the lawmakers write, "With energy bills already skyrocketing, FERC must use its authorities to reject unfair grid operator proposals, proactively investigate and address bad utility company practices and ensure just and reasonable rates for all Americans. We urge you to protect residential ratepayers over corporate profits, as FERC's mission demands."

Senator Markey continues to conduct oversight over the energy, environmental, and health-related impacts of data centers as companies invest billions in their development throughout the country.

• On September 25, Senator Markey wrote to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator (EPA) Lee Zeldin in opposition to Zeldin's decision to allow major polluting facilities-including data centers and associated power generation infrastructure-to start pre-construction activities without securing the air quality permits required under federal law.
• In July, Senator Markey hosted a roundtable discussion titled The Data Center Next Door: Hidden Costs and Harms of Artificial Intelligence and Cryptomining to highlight the adverse environmental, health, climate, and energy cost impacts of data center proliferation in communities across the United States, and to condemn the deregulatory actions set forth in President Trump's AI Action Plan.
• On the day of his roundtable in July, Senator Markey also released a storybook to spotlight the experiences of American families living with data centers in their backyard.
• In February 2024, Senator Markey introduced his Artificial Intelligence (AI) Environmental Impacts Act, legislation that would create standards to measure and report the full range of AI's environmental impacts.

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