Riley introduces bill to stop data center projects from driving up regional energy costs.

On July 13, Congressman Josh Riley (NY-19) introduced the FAIR Data Act, bipartisan legislation designed to prevent data center projects from raising energy bills for Upstate New York families and small businesses.

Massive data center projects across Upstate New York and the country consume enormous amounts of electricity. The infrastructure upgrades required to serve them are costly, and under current rules, utility companies pass those costs directly to ratepayers rather than to the corporations driving the demand. In the first half of 2025 alone, utilities nationwide requested more than $29 billion in electricity rate increases—nearly double the previous year—as they worked to upgrade infrastructure and meet surging demand.

Riley's legislation ensures that large corporate customers creating the demand bear these costs, rather than families, farmers, and small businesses already struggling with rising utility bills.

"Upstate New Yorkers are already paying through the nose for electricity, and we shouldn't have to pay a penny more so Big Tech can rake in record profits," Riley said. "If out-of-state tech companies want to build data centers here, they can pay their own way—not stick Upstate families with the bill."

Several data center developments have been proposed across New York's 19th Congressional District. Maryland-based TeraWulf is seeking to build a 300-to-400-megawatt AI data center at the former Cayuga Power Plant in Lansing, while a company called Eco-Yotta has pursued rezoning approval for an AI data center on County Road Nine in Oneonta. Both projects have encountered significant local opposition.

This legislation builds on Riley's broader effort to reduce utility costs for Upstate New York families.