Griffith Votes to Protect Ninth District Communities from Footing Bill for Data Centers

This press release from Representative H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) was published on 2026-09-16 and titled "Griffith Votes to Protect Ninth District Communities from Footing Bill for Data Centers".

Griffith Votes to Protect Ninth District Communities from Footing Bill for Data Centers

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 9340 – the Ratepayer Protection Act . This legislation protects local communities from electricity cost hikes by directing state regulators to make data center companies pay the full cost for its use of electricity infrastructure. Under the bill, all state utility commissions will hold proceedings on large-load electric rates and rules for data centers that draw more than 100 MW of power. The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate for further consideration. Following House passage of the bill, U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA), who voted for the bill and is a co-sponsor of similar legislation, issued the following statement: “Communities in Virginia’s Ninth District should not foot the bill for data centers’ electricity. “Electricity consumption costs associated with building and operating data centers must be passed along to the data centers, not the household ratepayer. “With this bill, data centers are on notice. Under the watch of this Congress, I will continue to promote responsible federal guardrails while supporting local autonomy over data centers.” BACKGROUND Congressman Griffith is also a co-sponsor of H.R. 6529 – the Protecting Families from AI Data Center Energy Costs Act. ###