Senate blocks GOP data-centre bill as Democrats call it "toothless"

US Senate Democrats blocked a Republican-led bill on Wednesday aimed at rising energy costs driven by the data-centre boom, falling three votes short of the 60 needed to advance the measure on a 57-43 procedural vote.

The Ratepayer Protection Act, sponsored by Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted, requires state regulators to “consider” adopting a proposed federal standard that would make data-centre companies cover the costs of grid upgrades rather than passing them on to consumers. Only four Democrats — Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia — voted to advance the bill.

Democrats opposed it as toothless. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor Tuesday: “Here we need some real action on data centers and what does the Republican senator from Ohio come up with? Something that is optional.” Sen. Martin Heinrich, who introduced a rival bill requiring large electricity users to pay for grid upgrades, said the measure was “all message and no substance.” The bill passed the House earlier this month with bipartisan support.

The vote lands in the Senate’s final days in Washington before the midterms and deals a blow to Husted, who is locked in one of the cycle’s most competitive Senate races against former Sen. Sherrod Brown. Data centres have become a flashpoint in Ohio, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned in an August internal memo that “more than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.” Senators are expected to leave Washington shortly and not return until after the midterms.