This is a congressional resolution expressing support for the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a commitment signed by major tech companies (Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI) on March 4, 2026. The resolution addresses a growing problem: as artificial intelligence and data centers expand rapidly across the country, they're consuming massive amounts of electricity—currently about 4% of all U.S. electricity, projected to reach 12% by 2028. Traditionally, when these massive facilities need new power infrastructure, the costs get spread across all electricity customers through higher rates, meaning regular households and small businesses end up paying for infrastructure that primarily serves wealthy tech companies. The Ratepayer Protection Pledge aims to fix this by requiring these companies to negotiate separate electricity rates with utilities and state governments, and importantly, to pay for the infrastructure whether or not they actually use all the power they've contracted for. This creates a financial incentive for these companies to share their backup power systems with the electrical grid during emergencies, which helps everyone get more reliable electricity. Congress is essentially saying this pledge is good policy and is encouraging other tech companies to make similar commitments. The resolution also asks federal agencies like the Department of Energy to help speed up the process of building new power generation and connecting it to the grid.

Scott, Rick

A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the Ratepayer Protection Pledge announced on March 4, 2026, reflects sound national policy to protect ratepayers in the United States, promote electricity affordability, and ensure that all people of the United States, including households, small businesses, schools, hospitals, and farms, have access to reliable and affordable energy as artificial intelligence and data center infrastructure expands across the United States.