---
title: "Ratepayer Protection Act Should Apply to All Large Electricity Users, Not Just Data Centers, Says Center for Data Innovation"
summary: |-
  In response to the House’s passage of the Ratepayer Protection Act,  the Center for Data Innovation released the following statement from Associate Director of AI Policy Michelle Lopes Maldonado.
date: "2026-09-17"
content_type: "Press Releases"
canonical_url: "https://datainnovation.org/2026/09/ratepayer-protection-act-should-apply-to-all-large-electricity-users-not-just-data-centers/"
---

# Ratepayer Protection Act Should Apply to All Large Electricity Users, Not Just Data Centers, Says Center for Data Innovation

WASHINGTON—In response to the House’s 417-3 passage of the Ratepayer Protection Act, which now heads to the Senate, the Center for Data Innovation released the following statement from Associate Director of AI Policy Michelle Lopes Maldonado:

> *The Ratepayer Protection Act gets the core principle right: large electricity consumers of 100 megawatts or more should pay for any associated infrastructure upgrades, ensuring those costs do not spill over to other ratepayers.*

*However, the revised bill only applies to data centers. A steel mill, semiconductor fab, or chemical refinery consuming 100 MW of power would create the same grid demand but be treated differently.*

*Congress should apply the standard uniformly to any customer at 100 MW or more, establishing a separate rate class for these large electricity users. This preserves the cost-recovery principle while eliminating sectoral favoritism and ensuring residential users are not left paying the bill.*

*To put it simply: If a customer creates the cost, that customer should pay the cost—regardless of what industry it happens to be in.*

**Contact:** Nicole Hinojosa, [press@datainnovation.org](mailto:press@datainnovation.org)

---
*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://datainnovation.org/2026/09/ratepayer-protection-act-should-apply-to-all-large-electricity-users-not-just-data-centers/*