US Senator proposes bill permitting AI data centers to bypass federal power rules via off-grid energy infrastructure development
"A new bill has been proposed in the US Senate that would permit artificial intelligence (AI) data center firms to bypass federal electricity regulations by building their own energy infrastructure.
The DATA Act of 2026 was proposed by Senator Tom Cotton (Republican, Arkansas) and would amend the Federal Power Act.
The exemption would allow data center developers to avoid the provisions of the Federal Power Act, including Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rate regulation, reliability standards, interconnection rules, transmission planning, and merger approval.
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According to Cotton, the bill would accelerate energy innovation, exempt new off-grid projects from outdated federal regulations not designed for on site, self-contained power systems, and enable data centers and other energy intensive sectors to construct electricity systems without impacting existing grids or ratepayers.
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The bill is similar to legislation passed in New Hampshire last year, which exempted off-grid power providers from the state’s utility laws."
