Warren, Hawley Lead Bipartisan Push For Mandatory Energy Use Reporting Requirements for Data Centers

Warren, Hawley Lead Bipartisan Push For Mandatory Energy Use Reporting Requirements for Data Centers

This data is critical to hold tech companies and other large loads accountable and protect ratepayers.

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) are pushing the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to establish mandatory annual reporting requirements for data centers and other large energy consumers. This data is necessary to hold data center companies accountable for the impacts they can have on local communities, including ensuring Big Tech companies' compliance with their commitments to shoulder their fair share of utility costs

"Comprehensive information regarding the operations of data centers and other large loads is essential for accurate grid planning and will support policymaking to prevent large companies from increasing electricity costs for American families," wrote the senators.

Data centers require enormous amounts of energy. The International Energy Agency estimates that data centers will account for roughly half of U.S. power demand growth from 2025 to 2030. To meet data centers' energy demands, utility companies are pouring billions of dollars into building expensive new grid infrastructure. These infrastructure buildouts are largely funded upfront by the utility companies, which recoup the costs by raising electricity prices for all consumers in the region. Despite data centers' impact on surrounding communities, contracts between data centers and utility companies are often confidential, and landowners and public officials are regularly required to sign non-disclosure agreements.

On March 4, 2026, seven technology companies signed the Administration's "Ratepayer Protection Pledge," promising to "build, bring, or buy the new generation resources and electricity needed to satisfy their new energy demands." However, both Congress and the public currently lack the data necessary to hold these companies accountable to this voluntary pledge. Standardized, comprehensive data reporting is essential to Congressional grid oversight and efforts to combat rising utility costs.

"To ensure adherence to these commitments, and to better understand the current and future impact of data centers and other large loads on the electrical grid, it is critical that EIA mandate annual, comprehensive reporting for these entities," wrote the senators.

Specifically, the senators are pushing the EIA to collect and share information regarding:

• Large load energy consumption (hourly, annual, and peak);

• Pricing and rates paid for electricity consumed;

• Upfront payments and security deposits;

• Load flexibility and demand response strategies used;

• Energy consumption of AI servers compared to energy consumption of general cloud computing workloads;

• And the costs of any transmission or distribution upgrades triggered by large load operations and how those costs are distributed among customers.

EIA has explicit authority under the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 to require energy consumption and related data from these facilities, and the agency already requires annual reporting on electricity sales and pricing from distribution utilities.

"Comprehensive, annual energy-use disclosures by data centers and other large loads will inform federal, state, and local policymaking and ensure technology companies operating these large loads comply with their commitments to pay for their own electricity and infrastructure upgrades," concluded the senators. "Without this data, policymakers, utility companies, and local communities are operating in the dark."

The senators requested that EIA Administrator Tristan Abbey provide a response regarding EIA's plans to conduct surveys around the impact of data centers and other large loads no later than April 9, 2026.

Senator Warren has been pushing for greater transparency and oversight around how data centers are driving up consumers' electricity costs. The senator opened an investigation into the extent to which Big Tech data centers are driving up consumers' electricity costs in December 2025, and secured a number of new commitments from the companies in January 2026.

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