Ratepayer Protection Act
- Bill Number
- S. 5028
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 2
- Policy Area
- Energy
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-07-16: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- Last Updated
- 2026-09-30T11:03:21Z
AI-Generated Summary
Summary of S. 5028 (Ratepayer Protection Act)
Purpose
This legislation amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to create a federal standard that requires large electricity users to cover the full costs of any new power infrastructure needed to serve them. The goal is to prevent existing ratepayers from paying for upgrades driven by these large users.
Key Provisions
- Definition of large-load customer: Applies to non-residential users requesting or entering contracts for electricity primarily for data storage, computing, or related IT systems, with a combined peak demand of 100 megawatts or more at one location.
- Cost recovery requirement: Electric rates for these customers must cover the full incremental costs of any generation, transmission, or distribution upgrades needed to serve them, even if the customer later ends the contract or stops buying power.
- Financial assurances: Utilities must obtain payments or guarantees from the large-load customer before starting any such upgrades.
- State implementation timeline: State regulators and non-regulated utilities must begin considering this standard within one year and complete a decision within two years of enactment.
- Exceptions for prior actions: States that have already adopted a similar rule, held proceedings on it, or voted on it are not required to repeat the process.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Adds a new standard (paragraph 22) to section 111(d) of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, creating specific rules for large-load customers that did not previously exist.
- Updates section 112 to set mandatory consideration deadlines and adjusts section 124 for handling ongoing proceedings under the new standard.
- Establishes a federal baseline that states must evaluate, while allowing them to avoid new reviews if they already have comparable policies.
Potential Impacts
- On government agencies: Requires state utility regulators to review and potentially adopt new rate policies within set timeframes, with possible administrative costs for hearings.
- On citizens: Aims to shield residential and smaller commercial ratepayers from increased electricity costs caused by infrastructure for large users.
- On international relations: No direct effects identified in the legislation.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- State regulatory authorities with oversight of electric utilities.
- Electric utilities responsible for providing service and upgrades.
- Large-load customers, such as operators of data centers and computing facilities.
- Existing ratepayers who currently share costs under traditional utility rate structures.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- The bill imposes a federal standard that states must consider but does not mandate adoption, preserving some state flexibility in energy regulation.
- It focuses on cost allocation in utility rates without altering broader constitutional authorities over interstate commerce or state powers.
- No provisions address enforcement mechanisms beyond the required state proceedings.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (16)
Sen. Tuberville, Tommy [R-AL], Sen. Moody, Ashley [R-FL], Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE], Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS], Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA], Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME], Sen. Graham, Darline [R-SC], Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR], Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND], Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL], Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX], Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA], Sen. Armstrong, Alan [R-OK], Sen. Hagerty, Bill [R-TN], Sen. Young, Todd [R-IN], Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE]
Recent Actions
- 2026-07-16: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- 2026-07-16: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- Ratepayer Protection Act — issued 2026-07-16 — PDF (5 pages)