RELEASE: Crapo Statement on Support for Ratepayer Protection Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2026

CONTACT: Kyra Smith (Crapo)

Bill would help protect Idahoans from utility costs associated with large AI data centers

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) released the following statement after voting in favor of the Ratepayer Protection Act, legislation led by Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio) to address the increasing energy infrastructure demands associated with large data centers:

“The U.S. must remain globally competitive in the advancement of artificial intelligence, which requires supporting the infrastructure and energy resources necessary for this growing technology,” said Crapo. “However, those costs should not be borne by Idaho ratepayers and communities. Large-load customers, such as data centers, should be responsible for the infrastructure and resources needed to power and maintain their facilities.”

The Senate voted 57-43 in favor of advancing the legislation, falling three votes short of the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and proceed to consideration of the bill.

Background on the Ratepayer Protection Act

The legislation would codify key elements of President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, announced in March 2026, under which major technology companies committed to covering the energy and infrastructure costs associated with new data center development rather than shifting those costs to consumers.

If enacted, the Ratepayer Protection Act would propose standards that state regulators could enforce when considering integrating new large-load customers with a demand of 100 megawatts or more onto the grid. Those recommendations include:

• Recovery of full, incremental cost of upgrades by the large-load customer over a long period of time through a special rate charge or other agreements. This protects utilities and their ratepayers from being left responsible for upgrade costs associated with a large-load customer, even if that customer later reduces operations or leaves the system entirely.
• Financial assurances requiring the large-load customer to pay for any generation, transmission or other infrastructure necessary to serve their load, protecting utilities and ratepayers from that financial burden. This ensures large-load customers are responsible for the fixed costs associated with serving their demand rather than passing those costs on to families and businesses through higher monthly electricity bills.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the House companion to the Ratepayer Protection Act by a bipartisan vote of 417-3 on September 16, 2026.

About Mike Crapo

Senator Mike Crapo has represented Idaho in the Senate since 1999, following three terms in the U.S. House and eight years in the Idaho State Senate. A lifelong Idahoan, he currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

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