Congress mandates energy costs for data centers

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill requiring data centers to bear a larger share of electricity costs, aiming to reduce the financial burden on American households, which are facing rising expenses due to increasing energy demand from artificial intelligence applications. The legislation seeks to obligate utility regulators to collect the costs of power plants and transmission lines directly from data centers, rather than passing these costs onto consumers. This move comes amid rising expenses for the major electricity grid serving 67 million customers, which saw an increase of $9.3 billion in one year. This development occurs amid concerns over the impact of data centers on water consumption, pollution, and noise, as well as ongoing political debates about regulating the AI sector and establishing safeguards for advanced technology risks. The legislative committee plans to forward the bill to the Senate for swift discussion, amidst calls for stricter regulations on the industry.

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