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House passes bill aimed at addressing data centers' impact on energy costs

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September 18th, 2026

House passes bill aimed at addressing data centers' impact on energy costs

Please note: This article has been simplified for language learning purposes. Some context and nuance from the original text may have been modified or removed.

🇺🇸 English

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill by an overwhelming majority, aimed at obliging artificial intelligence data centers to bear the costs arising from their enormous energy demands.

眾議院於週三以壓倒性多數通過一項法案，旨在責成人工智慧資料中心承擔其龐大能源需求所衍生之費用。

Lawmakers availed themselves of what was anticipated to be their final day of legislative business in Washington before the midterm elections to respond to the increasingly vociferous concerns of their constituents.

議員們藉預期中期中選舉前於華盛頓的最後一日議事日程，回應日益高漲的選民關切。

The bill obliges state utility regulators to consider a standard whereby utilities may recover in full from data centers the costs of additional power and transmission upgrades incurred in serving them; it passed by a vote of 417 to 3.

該法案責成各州公用事業監管機構審酌一項標準，俾使公用事業得以就為資料中心提供服務所衍生之新增電力及輸電升級成本，向資料中心全額收取；該法案以417票對3票獲通過。

Proponents of the bill have hailed this legislation as a "modest first step" toward shielding households and businesses from the burden of escalating utility bills.

該法案的擁護者將此項立法譽為使家庭與企業免受公用事業帳單攀升所苦的「溫和的第一步」。

In essence, the legislation merely offers a recommendation at the federal level, while still preserving the authority of individual states to regulate their electricity markets.

該立法本質上僅提供一項聯邦層級的建議，同時仍保留各州監管電力市場之權限。

Frank Pallone, the senior Democratic member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, stated: "I assure you all that this bill is by no means the end of our examination of these issues, but merely the beginning."

眾議院能源與商業委員會資深民主黨議員弗蘭克·帕隆表示：「我向各位保證，這項法案絕非我們審視這些議題的終點，而僅僅是開端。」

Several lawmakers are urging a comprehensive moratorium on the construction of artificial intelligence data centers until safeguards are established to ensure the safety and efficacy of artificial intelligence, and to ensure that such data centers do not drive up utility prices or harm the environment.

若干議員敦促全面中止人工智慧資料中心之建置，直至確立保障機制，以確保人工智慧之安全與效能，並確保資料中心不致推升公用事業價格或損害環境。

Meanwhile, more than a hundred Democrats signed a letter this week calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson to keep the House in session this month until Congress advances substantive artificial intelligence safeguards.

與此同時，逾百名民主黨人本週聯署致函，籲請眾議院議長邁克·約翰遜促眾議院於本月續行集會，直至國會推動實質性人工智慧保障措施。

Johnson noted that the bill passed by the House "strikes an appropriate balance between safeguarding the well-being of local communities and ensuring that the United States maintains its leading position in the field of artificial intelligence development."

約翰遜指出，眾議院所通過的這項法案「在維護當地社區福祉與確保美國於人工智慧發展領域維持領先地位之間，達致了恰如其分的平衡」。

The debate surrounding the bill has given rise to a wide array of divergent perspectives on the merits and drawbacks of data centers.

圍繞該法案所展開的辯論，就資料中心之利弊得失提出了歧異紛呈的觀點。

Steve Scalise, the Republican House Majority Leader from Louisiana, pointed out that the development of a data center in Richland Parish, in his home state, generated tax revenue that delivered bonuses of up to $50,000 to local teachers.

路易斯安那州共和黨籍眾議院多數黨領袖史蒂夫·斯卡利斯指出，其家鄉州里奇蘭堂區一座資料中心的開發，藉由稅收之增長，為當地教師帶來了最高達5萬美元的獎金。

Scalise declared, "That is the story you see in communities that embrace it."

斯卡利斯宣稱：「此即你在擁抱它的社區中所目睹的故事。」

This website is safeguarded by the reCAPTCHA protective mechanism and is concurrently bound by the provisions of Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

本網站受 reCAPTCHA 之防護機制所庇護，並同時受 Google 隱私權政策及服務條款之規範所約束。

Nevertheless, Parron points out that the American public harbours a visceral anxiety about what tangible impact data centres will have on their lives; he adds that President Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders have cast such concerns aside.

然而，帕隆指出，美國民眾對於資料中心將為其生活帶來何種實質影響，懷有切膚之憂；他並補充道，總統唐納德·川普與共和黨國會領袖已將這些憂慮棄置一旁。

He further notes that Trump asserted in a social media post that communities opposing data centres are inevitably destined to end up "backward and impoverished".

他進一步指出，川普於社群媒體發文聲稱，反對資料中心的社區，其最終下場必然是淪為「落後和貧窮」。

Palone stated: "As I see it, the president has become detached from reality on this issue, while the American people are eager to take action."

帕隆表示：「依我所見，總統於此議題上已然脫離現實，而美國人民正亟欲付諸行動。」

According to a new poll jointly released by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute, nearly two-thirds of Americans harbor extreme or very serious concerns about the impact data centers exert on energy prices; concurrently, 57% of respondents likewise expressed an equivalent degree of extreme or very serious concern regarding the repercussions these facilities have on water supply.

根據記者-NORC公共事務研究中心與芝加哥大學能源政策研究所聯合發佈的一項新民調顯示，近三分之二的美國民眾對於資料中心在能源價格方面所造成之影響，抱持極度或非常擔憂的態度；與此同時，57%的受訪者亦對其在水資源供應層面所產生的衝擊，表達了同等程度的極度或非常擔憂。

Gabe Evans, the Republican U.S. Representative from Colorado who sponsored the bill, pointed out that if the United States can expand its power system to meet demand, it may still be able to safeguard itself; otherwise, in terms of digital infrastructure, it could end up depending on countries such as China.

該法案的提案人、科羅拉多州共和黨籍聯邦眾議員加布·埃文斯指出，美國若能擴建其電力系統以因應需求，尚可自保；否則，在數位基礎設施方面，恐將仰賴中國等國家。

Evans stated: "We must not build such growth upon the backs of Americans who struggle to pay their electricity bills at the end of the month."

埃文斯表示：「我們斷不能將此般增長，構築於美國人於月末竭力繳付電費的脊梁之上。」

September 18th, 2026

The Lingo Times

House passes bill aimed at addressing data centers' impact on energy costs

House passes bill aimed at addressing data centers' impact on energy costs

🇺🇸 English

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