FAIR Data Act

Key Points

• The bill blocks investor-owned electric utilities from charging regular households and small businesses for the cost of grid upgrades needed to serve large data centers.
• The rule applies only to very large data centers, those using more than 75 megawatts of power at a single site, which is enough to power tens of thousands of homes.
• States lose access to certain Department of Energy funding unless they certify that data center infrastructure costs are not being passed on to household and small business electric rates.
• Data center operators who promised lower utility bills for local communities in their permit applications must report each year on whether those promised savings actually happened.
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must report to Congress every year on how data center electricity demand affects household electric rates and grid reliability.