Congressman Mackenzie Applauds Passage of Ratepayer Protection Act

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07), representing the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos, applauded the passage of the Ratepayer Protection Act on Tuesday evening. This bipartisan legislation, which the Congressman has co-sponsored, requires data centers and other large energy consumers to pay their fair share for the cost of the new energy infrastructure they necessitate.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, data centers currently account for roughly 4.4% of U.S. electricity consumption, a figure projected to increase to between 6.7% and 12% by 2028 as AI computing capacity continues to grow. Many new AI data centers require 100 megawatts (MW) or more of electricity, enough to power tens of thousands of homes, and often necessitate costly investments in new generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.

The Ratepayer Protection Act maintains local control and would require new large electricity customers with a peak demand of at least 100 megawatts to pay the full cost of any generation, transmission, or distribution upgrades needed to serve their facilities, rather than shifting those costs to existing ratepayers. It also requires these customers to provide financial assurances before utilities begin construction, ensuring the utility can recover its investment even if the customer later ends service.

"Communities in the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos should not be footing the energy bill for data centers they never asked for," said Congressman Ryan Mackenzie. "When companies want to build facilities that require major upgrades to energy infrastructure, they should be the ones who pay. The bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act, which I've co-sponsored, will help to ensure that data centers and similar facilities pay their fair share of the costs they produce instead of passing them on to local residents."

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