The fight over who pays for AI's power boom
Latta argued that data centers should pay their own costs and urged faster permitting and power generation.
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TAP FOR WHYOutlet credibility · Axios88/100 HIGH
134 stories · 87–89 · updated Sep 25, 2026
This article1 analysis · Sep 21, 2026
SOURCEAxios
Published Sep 18, 2026
tl;dr
Reps. Robert Latta and Sam Liccardo debated who should pay for infrastructure needed to serve expanding AI data centers. Latta backed a House bill protecting existing ratepayers, while Liccardo called it ineffective and proposed stronger conditions on developers.
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Robert E. Latta
R · OH-5
House lawmaker advocating that data centers pay their own infrastructure costs and supporting the Ratepayer Protection Act
PRIMARY SUBJECT
Sam T. Liccardo
D · CA-16
House lawmaker criticizing the Ratepayer Protection Act and proposing conditions for faster data-center grid connections
Liccardo's version of this story ↗ALSO MENTIONED Harry K. Sideris, Duke Energy president and CEO describing agreements requiring data centers to cover infrastructure costs; Ted Trabue, Interim chairman of the District of Columbia Public Service Commission describing electricity-cost pressures; Tristan Abbey, U.S. Energy Information Administration administrator discussing new electricity reporting
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