Bills · 119th Congress · Energy

Ratepayer Protection Act

Where it stands

  1. Introduced6/18/26
  2. Passed HousePassed 9/16/26
  3. Senate
  4. President
  5. Law

Passed the House 417–3 on September 16, 2026 (Roll Call 312 →). Received in the Senate on September 17, 2026.

Set your address to see how your representatives voted.

Roll calls on this bill

Votes on passage
HouseOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended · 9/16/26Suspension of the rulesA fast-track House procedure, usually for measures expected to have broad support. Debate is limited to 40 minutes, no amendments can be offered, and it needs a two-thirds vote of members voting — not a simple majority. A yes vote passes the bill. “As amended” means changes written into the motion itself are included.Rules of the House, Rule XV, clause 1 ↗
Passed
  • Democratic206 Yea · 3 Nay · 5 Not voting
  • Republican210 Yea · 0 Nay · 7 Not voting
  • Independent / Other1 Yea · 0 Nay · 0 Not voting
Official summary (CRS)

Ratepayer Protection Act

The bill requires state utility regulators and nonregulated utilities to consider implementing a standard to hold certain large-load customers responsible for the costs associated with any generation, transmission, or distribution upgrade of electric service necessary to serve such customers. A large-load customer means a non-residential electric consumer that enters, or requests to enter, an agreement concerning the sale of electric energy primarily to operate information technology infrastructure and related systems pertaining to data storage and computational applications and services (e.g., data centers) that have a peak electric demand of 100 megawatts or more at a single site or campus.

Specifically, the bill requires states to consider implementing a federal standard for large-load customers. The standard must require rates charged by electric utilities for providing electric service to a large-load customer to be designed to recover from the large-load customer the full, incremental cost of any generation, transmission, or distribution upgrade necessary to serve such customer. This rate must include the costs that would be incurred if the large-load customer terminates an agreement with the electric utility pertaining to the sale of electric energy or otherwise ceases the purchase of energy from the electric utility.

Full text on congress.gov ↗
Sponsor
Rep. Gabe Evans ( Republican · CO-8)
Cosponsors
42
Introduced
6/18/26
Policy area
Energy

What happens next

The Senate must pass the same text, then it goes to the President.

If it isn't enacted by Jan 3, 2027, it expires when the 119th Congress ends.

All actions (27)
  1. 6/18/26Introduced in House
  2. 6/18/26Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
  3. 6/18/26Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy.
  4. 6/24/26Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  5. 6/24/26Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
  6. 7/20/26Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  7. 7/21/26Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  8. 7/21/26Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 52 - 0.
  9. 9/10/26Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 119-814.
  10. 9/10/26Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 713.
  11. 9/15/26Mr. Guthrie moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  12. 9/15/26Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5656-5661)
  13. 9/15/26DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 9340.
  14. 9/15/26At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  15. 9/16/26Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H5958-5959)
  16. 9/16/26Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 417 - 3 (Roll no. 312). (text: CR H5656-5657)
  17. 9/16/26On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 417 - 3 (Roll no. 312). (text: CR H5656-5657)
  18. 9/16/26Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  19. 9/17/26Received in the Senate.
  20. 9/23/26Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
  21. 9/24/26Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 684.
  22. 9/28/26Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (CR S5065)
  23. 9/28/26Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate. (CR S5065)
  24. 9/29/26Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate.
  25. 9/30/26Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (CR S5199)
  26. 9/30/26Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 57 - 43. Record Vote Number: 254.
  27. 9/30/26Motion to proceed to consideration of measure withdrawn in Senate. (CR S5199)