# 119-hr-8241: Power for the People Act of 2026

119-hr-8241, Power for the People Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] (D-NY); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8241
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8241
- Congress: 119
- Title: Power for the People Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-04-09
- Sponsor: Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] (D-NY)
- Cosponsors: 27
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**This bill creates a federal framework to manage rapid data‑center electricity growth and protect ratepayers by shifting costs and setting standards.** It sets national rules for interconnection, cost allocation, rate design, reliability, and labor for data centers.

## Cosponsors (27)

- Rep. Castor, Kathy [D-FL-14] (D-FL), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3] (D-MD), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Dexter, Maxine [D-OR-3] (D-OR), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Foushee, Valerie P. [D-NC-4] (D-NC), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Garamendi, John [D-CA-8] (D-CA), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10] (D-NY), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8] (D-MA), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ivey, Glenn [D-MD-4] (D-MD), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McClain Delaney, April [D-MD-6] (D-MD), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4] (D-VA), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mfume, Kweisi [D-MD-7] (D-MD), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Olszewski, Johnny [D-MD-2] (D-MD), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9] (D-IL), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] (D-IL), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Latimer, George [D-NY-16] (D-NY), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Escobar, Veronica [D-TX-16] (D-TX), 2026-04-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] (D-MN), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10] (D-CA), 2026-04-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Balint, Becca [D-VT-At Large] (D-VT), 2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1] (D-ME), 2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Levin, Mike [D-CA-49] (D-CA), 2026-06-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Underwood, Lauren [D-IL-14] (D-IL), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McDonald Rivet, Kristen [D-MI-8] (D-MI), 2026-08-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7] (D-CO), 2026-09-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Dean, Madeleine [D-PA-4] (D-PA), 2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Make data centers pay local grid costs: mixed, medium. If enacted, utilities would have to file tariffs within 120 days to charge local transmission upgrades to the data centers that cause them. States with existing or proposed data centers would have one year to start and two years to finish considering a data‑center utility rate class. The bill would…
- New rules for data center connections: mixed, medium. If enacted, the Commission would require grid operators and utilities to run a data-center load queue and publish more interconnection details. The Commission must issue the rule within 180 days and covered entities must comply within one year. Data centers not already connected could not interconn…
- Prevailing wages and apprenticeship rules: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would treat contractors who sign certain pre‑hire union contracts or use project labor agreements as meeting prevailing‑wage and registered‑apprenticeship requirements. The Secretary of Labor would have authority to enforce those wage and apprenticeship rules. The deeming of co…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act
- 119-hr-15: Equality Act
- 119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-8241 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8241)

## Related
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5390)
- [119-hr-15: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-15)
- [119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1589)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8241 (as of 2026-09-21).