U.S. Senate Democrats have blocked a bill that would have insulated residential customers from increases in electricity costs driven by data center demand.

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody has signed on as a cosponsor of federal legislation designed to prevent household utility bills from rising as energy-heavy data centers expand across the country. The Ratepayer Protection Act cleared the House of Representatives on a 417-3 vote but stalled on the Senate floor after Democrats blocked its consideration.

Introduced in the Senate by Sen. John Husted, R-Ohio, the bill targets the high infrastructure costs associated with massive tech facilities. Under the proposed rules, state utility regulators and unregulated power providers would establish specific standards for large-load energy users, guaranteeing that utilities recover the full, incremental costs of building or upgrading the power generation, transmission lines, and distribution networks required to serve large customers. The bill would also require these facilities to provide financial assurances before any grid upgrades begin and guarantee cost recovery if a company terminates its power contract early.

Following the vote, Moody criticized the Senate blockade: "I'm cosponsoring the Ratepayer Protection Act to ensure Americans are protected from increased costs associated with new data centers. If billion-dollar tech companies want to build a massive data center, Floridians should not be left to foot the bill. It is disheartening to see Senate Democrats block the Ratepayer Protection Act from passing. While Democrats continue to play politics over the issue, I'll keep fighting to get this common-sense legislation passed."

The legislation emerges amid broader debates over the rapid expansion of data facilities and their impact on local communities. Moody has maintained that local governments should hold final authority over where these projects are built. With the measure stalled in the Senate, supporters will need to negotiate further floor access or pursue alternative legislative routes to advance it.