Sponsors (19)
The bill directs FERC to study and recommend ways to protect small electricity customers and plan for large new loads, potentially improving rate stability and planning but risking agency resource diversion, rushed analysis, and cost-shifting onto other customers.
Homeowners, renters, and small commercial customers (small-business owners) are less likely to face future electricity bill increases because FERC will study and recommend rate structures to shield them from costs caused by large electricity users.
Consumers (homeowners, renters, and small businesses) could see more stable electricity rates over time because the study may promote best practices in grid planning and transmission cost allocation that reduce future rate volatility.
Taxpayers and policymakers will have better information about emerging high-demand industries (e.g., data centers, AI) because the study requires including large loads, helping design more equitable and forward-looking rate policies.
Taxpayers and large electricity customers could face higher bills if recommendations to protect small customers shift more costs onto other customer classes or onto taxpayers.
Stakeholders, state regulators, and consumers may get less thorough or less effective recommendations because the 90-day convene and 180-day report deadlines could limit depth of analysis and stakeholder input.
FERC staff and federal employees may need to divert time and resources to hold the conference and produce the report, potentially delaying other rulemakings or agency work.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Directs FERC to convene a technical conference (including AI data centers) and submit recommendations to protect residential and small commercial ratepayers from costs tied to large electricity loads.
Official title: To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to hold a technical conference on protecting residential ratepayers from increased costs associated with large loads, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 9, 2025 by Greg Landsman · Last progress December 9, 2025
Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to convene a Commissioner-led technical conference within 90 days to bring together DOE, utilities, transmission providers, state regulators, ratepayer advocates, large electricity consumers (explicitly including data centers used for AI models), and other stakeholders to discuss strategies and rate structures that prevent residential and small commercial customers from shouldering higher electric costs caused by very large loads. FERC must deliver a report with recommendations and best practices to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee within 180 days after the conference concludes.