Washington, D.C. — A new plan from the Center for American Progress would offer Americans immediate relief from surging electricity costs, make artificial intelligence (AI) data centers pay their fair share, and invest in a bigger, better grid.
Unlike some other plans that have been proposed, a centerpiece of CAP’s plan calls for a rate relief fund for states that freeze or lower residential electricity rates over four years.
States’ participation in the rate relief fund program would save residential consumers about $125 billion in electricity bills, or roughly $900 for the average household over four years. That allows time for new infrastructure investments and utility reforms to further lower the costs of electricity for everyone by building a more affordable power system.
“This plan would immediately help consumers struggling to pay for surging utility costs,” said Trevor Higgins, senior vice president for Energy and Environment at CAP and co-author of the report. “And it’s the kind of plan that can gain traction in an election year, with skyrocketing energy prices becoming a key campaign issue.”
It offers a sharp contrast to the blundering approach of the Trump administration, which is blocking affordable clean energy projects, propping up outdated and expensive fossil fuel power plants, and repealing federal investment incentives that would lower electricity prices.
The three-part plan includes:
- A program to build a better, bigger power system, including reforms to speed up permitting of new transmission and generation capacity, align utility incentives for lowering costs, and make public investments in manufacturing and construction of both clean energy and grid infrastructure.
- Creating a federal rate relief fund that offers funding to states that freeze or lower residential electricity rates over four years. This would immediately take the cost pressure off households, saving more than $900 for the average household over that period while a better, bigger power system is built.
- A mandatory AI data center national fair share policy to set standard rules for AI data centers to pay their fair share of the energy and grid infrastructure costs and make sure residential consumers do not foot the bill while discouraging data centers from being built off-grid.
Read the report: “A Plan for American Electricity Affordability,” by Trevor Higgins, Shannon Baker-Branstetter, Michael Negron, Lucero Marquez, and Kendra Hughes
Read the fact sheet summarizing the plan.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].