S. Brett Guthrie
04/29/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Guthrie Leads Efforts to Lower Energy Costs, Protect Ratepayers
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, issued the following statement at today's Subcommittee on Energy hearing titled: AI and the Grid: Meeting Growing Power Demand While Protecting Ratepayers.
This legislative hearing is the latest in the Committee's work to meet the nation's growing energy demand and secure our grid while providing affordable and reliable electricity to the American people.
Chairman Guthrie's Remarks as Prepared for Delivery:
"Thank you, Chairman Latta, for holding this hearing, and thank you to the witnesses for appearing before us to examine seven proposals to modernize our electric system to meet the needs of the 21st Century.
"Throughout this Congress, the Energy and Commerce Committee has spent considerable time examining the opportunities that arise from U.S. leadership in Artif
icial Intelligence development.
"We've evaluated the benefits of AI across every sector of our economy.
The national security issues with AI and adversarial nations like China and having whose values control AI is vitally important.
"We've looked at ways AI data growth and how it interacts with our electric system. The world is at a precipice of great change, and we must get this right.
"It is no secret that energy demands coming from data centers are raising concerns about affordability in our communities.
"But we are charting a path to ensure, and as the ranking member said, ' we can find common ground' on that data center growth works for all Americans, and not just big tech companies.
When done right, research and evidence continue to show that load growth coming from data centers actually lowers costs for communities because new data centers bring needed investment into the grid modernization, while connecting baseload energy that keeps the lights on for everybody for 365 days a year.
"Even more, these investments raise significant tax revenue. We're looking at one in my district that is going to raise significant tax revenue, and they can use that to pay for local communities, schools, public safety, and recreational parks.
"It should generate a nice source of revenue, and if you're going to locate in a community, it should generate revenue in that community. And that is why legislation before us today focuses on ways to methodically plan, build, and pay for a grid that works for all the American households.
"These bills enhance the states' important role in planning a more affordable, reliable grid. We are also ensuring that data centers are paying their fair share. Data centers should pay for the load that comes into the data centers.
"So, while we may not agree with every provision in the bill, these proposals will foster discussion on how to implement a vision of our electric system that keeps costs low for households and ensures U.S. leadership in the next generation economy.
"I look forward to today's discussion, and I absolutely do look forward to continued discussions amongst all members of this committee to see that we beat China in the race.
"Thank you, and I yield back."
Chairman Guthrie's five minutes of questions during today's hearing can be found here.
Background:
This legislative hearing examined seven bills, including the Ratepayer Protection Act, Load Forecasting Enhancement Act, and Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act.
- The Ratepayer Protection Act would protect ratepayers from footing the bill for large-load energy customers, like AI data centers, by requiring State regulatory authorities to consider establishing a large-load standard designed to cover the full cost of any upgrades to power generation, transmission, or distribution.
- The Load Forecasting Enhancement Act would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to hold regional joint boards with State public utility commissions to study and identify best practices to plan out future electricity needs and how to deploy energy utilities effectively to customers.
- The Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act would direct the Department of Energy, in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, to study and report to Congress on opportunities to utilize AI and other high-performance computing technologies to enhance the capacity, reliable operation, and operational efficiency of the bulk power system.
This legislative hearing is the latest in the Committee's work to meet the nation's growing energy demand and secure our grid while providing affordable and reliable electricity to the American people.
Chairman Guthrie's Remarks as Prepared for Delivery:
"Thank you, Chairman Latta, for holding this hearing, and thank you to the witnesses for appearing before us to examine seven proposals to modernize our electric system to meet the needs of the 21st Century.
"Throughout this Congress, the Energy and Commerce Committee has spent considerable time examining the opportunities that arise from U.S. leadership in Artif
icial Intelligence development.
"We've evaluated the benefits of AI across every sector of our economy.
The national security issues with AI and adversarial nations like China and having whose values control AI is vitally important.
"We've looked at ways AI data growth and how it interacts with our electric system. The world is at a precipice of great change, and we must get this right.
"It is no secret that energy demands coming from data centers are raising concerns about affordability in our communities.
"But we are charting a path to ensure, and as the ranking member said, ' we can find common ground' on that data center growth works for all Americans, and not just big tech companies.
When done right, research and evidence continue to show that load growth coming from data centers actually lowers costs for communities because new data centers bring needed investment into the grid modernization, while connecting baseload energy that keeps the lights on for everybody for 365 days a year.
"Even more, these investments raise significant tax revenue. We're looking at one in my district that is going to raise significant tax revenue, and they can use that to pay for local communities, schools, public safety, and recreational parks.
"It should generate a nice source of revenue, and if you're going to locate in a community, it should generate revenue in that community. And that is why legislation before us today focuses on ways to methodically plan, build, and pay for a grid that works for all the American households.
"These bills enhance the states' important role in planning a more affordable, reliable grid. We are also ensuring that data centers are paying their fair share. Data centers should pay for the load that comes into the data centers.
"So, while we may not agree with every provision in the bill, these proposals will foster discussion on how to implement a vision of our electric system that keeps costs low for households and ensures U.S. leadership in the next generation economy.
"I look forward to today's discussion, and I absolutely do look forward to continued discussions amongst all members of this committee to see that we beat China in the race.
"Thank you, and I yield back."
Chairman Guthrie's five minutes of questions during today's hearing can be found here.
Background:
This legislative hearing examined seven bills, including the Ratepayer Protection Act, Load Forecasting Enhancement Act, and Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act.
- The Ratepayer Protection Act would protect ratepayers from footing the bill for large-load energy customers, like AI data centers, by requiring State regulatory authorities to consider establishing a large-load standard designed to cover the full cost of any upgrades to power generation, transmission, or distribution.
- The Load Forecasting Enhancement Act would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to hold regional joint boards with State public utility commissions to study and identify best practices to plan out future electricity needs and how to deploy energy utilities effectively to customers.
- The Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act would direct the Department of Energy, in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, to study and report to Congress on opportunities to utilize AI and other high-performance computing technologies to enhance the capacity, reliable operation, and operational efficiency of the bulk power system.
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