CR supports critical provisions in the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act that would shield Americans from AI data center costs, help modernize the grid, and cut red tape for home energy upgrades
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a letter delivered to Senators today, Consumer Reports urged lawmakers to advance vital consumer protection provisions within the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (S. 5653).
“Key provisions of this bill will help protect hard working Americans from the costs associated with data centers, speed up needed improvements to our electric grid, and streamline permitting for home energy upgrades,” said Chris Harto, manager of energy policy at Consumer Reports. “We urge the Senate to advance this bipartisan legislation as a critical step for controlling the spiraling costs of our electricity system.
A recent nationally representative survey conducted by Consumer Reports found that Americans across the political spectrum are seeing their household budgets strained by rising electricity bills, including some higher-income households. Costs associated with AI data centers and costs for repairing and upgrading the electric grid were two of the top factors Americans think are affecting electricity prices. S. 5653 takes important steps to address both of these cost drivers.
In its letter, Consumer Reports called on lawmakers to support three key areas within the bill:
- Preventing Data Center Cost Shifting: S. 5653 establishes a federal floor ensuring that existing ratepayers are not saddled with the incremental generation, storage, transmission, and distribution costs required to power covered facilities of 20 megawatts or more. The bill requires utilities to secure financial assurances before building, protects consumers against stranded-asset debt if a facility departs, updates federal transmission pricing for computational loads, and confirms state authority to require large loads to procure dedicated clean generation or provide grid flexibility.
- Maximizing Grid Value and Transmission Efficiency: The legislation strengthens interregional transmission planning focused on consumer affordability, incentivizes high-efficiency advanced conductors (reconductoring) to expand capacity within existing rights-of-way, and reinforces the core principle that customers should not pay for transmission lines from which they derive negligible benefit.
- Streamlining Permitting for Household Energy Technologies: S. 5653 provides targeted federal technical assistance and funding to help local and Tribal jurisdictions automate and expedite permitting for rooftop solar, residential batteries, and electric-vehicle chargers—slashing avoidable “soft costs” for families investing in lowering their own monthly bills.
An analysis by Consumer Reports recently identified a dozen distinct mechanisms through which rapid data center expansion can drive up power bills for existing customers. Provisions within S. 5653 directly address five of those vulnerabilities and would provide a strong foundation for reducing cost and risks imposed on existing ratepayers from rapid data center development.
Background:
CR recently launched Power Smarter, a new initiative to help millions of households lower their energy costs and build the collective power needed to make the energy system work better for consumers. As part of the launch, CR unveiled Bill Decoder, a tool that collects consumer utility bill data to map national price trends, uncover cost drivers, and gather evidence to fight for fairer rates. The tool also provides consumers with local financial assistance resources, efficiency ratings, and guides to decode utility terms and fees.
Contact: cyrus.rassool@consumer.org