Trump is talking with Senate’s Thune about bill to cut data-center electricity costs

President Donald Trump is in discussions with Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune regarding a bill designed to shield consumers from potential electricity cost hikes resulting from the proliferation of data centers. "I’m talking to him about it. We’ll see what happens," Trump stated to reporters on Friday.

The issue of mounting electricity expenses due to the escalating power needs of data centers has garnered growing concern from legislators across the political spectrum. Earlier this week, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted 417 to 3 in favor of the Ratepayer Protection Act. This legislation seeks to compel state utility regulators to evaluate whether significant electricity users, like data centers, should shoulder the extra costs associated with the infrastructure intended to serve them.

However, a Senate Republican attempt to swiftly pass the bill fell short on Thursday after Democrat Senator Martin Heinrich opposed the measure.

Heinrich, the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, argued that the bill fell short of being robust enough. He contended that it relied excessively on voluntary commitments from states and data center developers rather than enacting more stringent measures. Trump, on the other hand, is a staunch advocate for data center expansion, viewing these facilities as indispensable for bolstering the nation's position in artificial intelligence.

In a recent poll conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, only 11% of Americans expressed support for the establishment of an AI data center in their local area.