A Democratic bill with 1 Democratic cosponsor · See the cosponsor
Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The "No Harm Data Centers Act" aims to protect American families from the electricity costs caused by data centers. It defines a data center as a facility or group of facilities with a peak electricity demand exceeding 50 megawatts. The bill gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the authority to ensure data centers pay the full costs of building and upgrading power infrastructure. It prohibits electric utilities from shifting these costs onto other retail customers. Additionally, the bill limits the use of nondisclosure clauses against public officials regarding data center construction. Finally, it directs the EPA to seek an assessment of how data centers impact the environment and public health.
Yes· 3 of 9
- Scored +7
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?
The bill prevents companies from using nondisclosure clauses to hide construction details from public officials.
- Scored +6
Does this give the federal government more power?
The bill grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sole authority to approve rates for data centers.
- Scored +5
Would business owners be better off under this?
Small commercial businesses are protected from rising electricity rates caused by large data centers.
The opposite
- Scored -2
Is this likely to grow the economy?
The bill imposes significant new costs and regulatory burdens on large-scale data center operations.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Economic Protection for Families: The bill seeks to ensure that residential and small commercial electricity customers are protected from being forced to pay for the infrastructure required by data centers (Section 2).
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Fair Cost Allocation: Data centers would be required to pay the full costs of constructing, upgrading, and expanding transmission, distribution, and generating facilities to meet their specific demand (Section 3(b)(2)).
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Prevention of Cost-Shifting: The bill prohibits covered electric utilities from passing the costs of data center infrastructure onto any customer other than the data center itself (Section 3(b)(2)).
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Increased Transparency: By making predispute nondisclosure clauses unenforceable against public officials, the bill allows for more transparency regarding the construction of data centers (Section 4).
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Environmental and Health Oversight: The bill mandates an assessment of how data centers affect noise pollution, air pollution, water consumption, water supply, carbon emissions, and waste (Section s 5).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Increased Penalties for Violations: Any person who violates the provisions regarding data center rates or orders could face civil penalties of up to $10,000,000 for each day the violation continues (Section 3(c)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would business owners be better off under this? — Small commercial businesses are protected from rising electricity rates caused by large data centers. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — Preventing the shifting of infrastructure costs helps keep electricity bills stable for lower-income families. Would middle-income households be better off under this? — The bill protects middle-income residential customers from being forced to pay for data center grid upgrades.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — The bill prevents companies from using nondisclosure clauses to hide construction details from public officials. Does this give the federal government more power? — The bill grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sole authority to approve rates for data centers.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this better protect air, water and wildlife? — The bill mandates an assessment of environmental impacts such as water consumption, air pollution, and waste.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this make it easier to run a small business? — By prohibiting cost-shifting, the bill protects small commercial electricity customers from rising rates caused by data centers. Is this likely to grow the economy? — The bill imposes significant new costs and regulatory burdens on large-scale data center operations.
- Education And Technology
- Does this put more money into scientific research? — The bill directs the National Academies to conduct a formal scientific assessment of data center impacts.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Is this likely to lift people out of poverty? — Protecting residential electricity customers from cost-shifting helps maintain household economic stability.
- 6/29/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 3/20/2026
- Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- Introduced in House
John LarsonDemocrat · Connecticut