Ratepayer Protection Pledge Codification Act
The Trump Administration’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge was a great start. But with no mechanism to ensure that signatories carry out their promises, public skepticism of data centers is increasing.
The Ratepayer Protection Pledge Codification Act (RPPCA) seeks to fix this by creating a certification program, overseen by the Secretary of Energy, which will allow participants to gain access to quicker permitting for:
Hydroelectric power projects
Nuclear power projects
Grid connectivity
In exchange, they agree to
Pay for or provide all electricity used by their data centers
Hire only Americans and green card holders for data center staffing purposes
Those who enter into the program and are deemed to be failing to adhere to their agreements will be fined up to $1,000,000 for each day they are failing to abide.
As a result, Americans can know that their electricity bills won’t rise due to nearby data centers — and that those same data centers will be staffed by people who actually have an attachment to our country. In exchange, the needlessly slow pace of permitting can be sped up, ensuring that Americans have the compute necessary to power their use of AI and the internet.
