listen to this articleImportant points:
- Maryland’s Congressional delegation supports the bipartisan Power for the People Act, which would regulate energy use by AI companies.
- The bill would require AI companies to pay for increased power demand and infrastructure changes.
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Andy Harris have emphasized that the cost of AI data centers should not be borne by consumers.
- President Trump announced a ratepayer protection pledge signed by major tech companies to address the burden of energy costs.
WASHINGTON – As power prices soar across Maryland, the state’s congressional delegation is taking a bipartisan stance in support of legislation that would regulate energy use by AI companies.
The Power for the People Act would require AI companies to cover the costs of increased power demand and infrastructure changes needed to meet data center demand.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), said the biggest factor in the price hike is the proliferation of these centers, which require vast amounts of electricity to operate.
“Consumers do not have to pay for data centers such as: [run] by the richest company on the planet, an AI company,” Van Hollen said Thursday at a press conference at the Capitol, alongside three other members of his delegation.
Average energy prices for Maryland residents have increased nearly 50% since 2020, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The concern is crossing the usual partisan lines and drawing support from the only Republican in the delegation.
“There is bipartisan agreement,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) said at a joint news conference. “The president spoke in his State of the Union address about the fact that these companies, which are literally multi-trillion dollar companies, have to stop passing the cost of energy on to ratepayers.”
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that major technology companies including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI have signed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge. Under this pledge, companies agree to bear the brunt of costs associated with data centers by not only paying for new infrastructure built to service their data centers, but also negotiating higher rates individually with utility companies and state governments.
The pledge requires these companies to hire local workers wherever they build and operate data centers. It will also work with grid operators to share backup resources in the event of emergencies such as power outages or power shortages.
“Seven of the world’s largest technology companies came to the White House to sign President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, demonstrating their commitment to the President and the American people,” White House Press Secretary Taylor Rogers told Capital News Service in an email. “The government continues to work with these companies to deliver on the terms of the pledge.”
But Van Hollen said the pledge is not enough without being enacted into law.
“Unless this too is enacted, it is not worth the paper it is written on,” he said.
Harris added that the Maryland General Assembly must also take steps to ease the burden on Marylanders in the immediate future.
He called on the state Legislature to temporarily suspend state funds that fund energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction programs for now.
“Pause,” Harris said. “I think we have to provide immediate relief to our constituents.”
Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) said his delegation must take action as soon as possible.
“I’m angry,” Mfume said. “People are paying too much money for heating and electricity…and those behind me will tell you, that’s unacceptable.”
Capital News Service’s Caitlin Winebrenner reports.
