Will data centers pay double to access the grid?
OCTOBER 29, 2026
CATHERINE BOUDREAU | Data centers may be willing to be double charged for grid infrastructure, so long as those costs are paired with policy that makes it easier to build in the U.S.
Tucked inside the Senate’s bipartisan permitting reform bill are provisions that would upend decades of federal power rules by directing data centers and crypto miners to pay for both the new transmission lines needed to serve them, as well as the cost of using the existing grid. Historically, charging a customer twice for the same capacity was considered an illegal practice. But that could change, as data centers disproportionately drive up demand for electricity across the U.S. and hyperscalers promise not to saddle other customers with the bill.
The shift reflects a fraught moment in the race to power artificial intelligence, especially heading into the midterm elections next week. Energy affordability is top of mind for many voters across the U.S., whose opinion of data centers has soured dramatically this year, according to the latest polling by POLITICO.
Half of Americans now oppose data centers being built within three miles of their home, up from 28% in January. Their concerns are rooted in rising utility bills, water use, air pollution, and AI’s impact on jobs and the broader economy. Controversial projects are affecting local races, including in states like New Mexico, Utah, and Wisconsin.
“I think the data center industry will take this deal because they’ve already acknowledged that they need to cover their costs,” Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s energy program, told Latitude Media. “And at the end of the day, the bill will make it a lot easier to build the gas and renewable infrastructure needed to serve data centers.”
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