Power for the People Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Senator Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would create a federal system to manage how very large data centers connect to the electric grid. It would make data centers pay their share of grid upgrades and prioritize low‑carbon energy and worker protections during interconnection.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.
Higher construction wages for data centers
If enacted, contractors who sign pre-hire collective bargaining agreements for data center or new energy supply construction would be treated as meeting the bill's prevailing-wage and registered-apprentice rules. Project labor agreements would also be treated as compliant. The Secretary of Labor would have authority to enforce these labor standards.
Data centers pay local upgrade costs
If enacted, the Commission would have 120 days to order utilities to file tariffs that charge each interconnecting data center the local transmission upgrades that would not be needed but for that data center. Data centers would still pay transmission rates for their class but those rates would exclude the local upgrades allocated to them. Each State with at least one data center would have to start considering a data-center rate class within 1 year and finish within 2 years. The Department of Energy would set up grants and technical help within 180 days to help states and nonregulated utilities design these rate classes, with appropriations authorized as "such sums as are necessary."
New grid queue for data centers
If enacted, the Commission would have 180 days to require a special data center interconnection queue, and grid operators would have one year to comply. The queue would give higher priority to data centers that pay for new low- or no-carbon power, use low/no-carbon backup (not diesel), meet prevailing-wage and registered-apprentice rules, or use labor peace agreements. Covered operators could delay or deny interconnection if it would harm reliability or affordability for non-data-center customers. The bill would define a "data center" as facilities over 50 megawatts, and a data center could not interconnect unless it fully advanced through the queue.
Federal help for grid forecasting
If enacted, the Department of Energy would set up a technical assistance program within 180 days to help grid operators improve long-term load forecasting, with a focus on data center connection requests. The bill authorizes whatever sums are necessary to fund the program.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]
MD • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
IL • D
Sponsored 1/15/2026
Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
CT • D
Sponsored 1/15/2026
Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
NJ • D
Sponsored 1/15/2026
Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]
IL • D
Sponsored 1/15/2026
Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]
MN • D
Sponsored 1/15/2026
Peter Welch
VT • D
Sponsored 1/15/2026
Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD]
MD • D
Sponsored 1/15/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov