Senate Vote on Ratepayer Protection Act Can’t be ‘Mission Accomplished’

Washington, D.C. — With the Senate next week potentially voting on the Ratepayer Protection Act, introduced by Republican Senator Jon Husted, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) issued the following statement from Vice President of Federal Policy, Matthew Davis:

“Let’s be clear, a bill that simply asks states to ‘consider’ making standards for passing along energy costs from data centers does not fix what families are facing, and it does not address the real threats posed by unchecked data center growth.

“Under pressure from Big Tech, states could easily ignore this bill entirely. Senators who are serious about lowering energy bills and protecting communities should stop pretending this bill is enough, and instead support solutions that provide real accountability, like Senator Heinrich’s GRID Savings Act— a bill Republican Senators blocked from passing last week. They also shouldn’t have voted for tax breaks for data centers in their Big Ugly Bill in the first place.

“As we said before the House voted on this bill, the job isn’t done until we have binding protections for public health and the environment, real input and benefits for communities hosting these facilities, and financial responsibility squarely where it belongs: on the industry, not ratepayers. To pass this and declare ‘mission accomplished’ would be an insult to a public who understands that their very real concerns about data centers cannot be addressed with such a weak promise and no follow-through.”

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