Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the United States has long been a global leader in science, technology, and innovation, which are essential to economic growth, national security, and global competitiveness; (2) artificial intelligence requires substantial computing power, storage, and networking capacity to train models and process data at scale; (3) the rapid and significant increase in load growth driven by data centers, growing electrification, the onshoring of domestic manufacturing, and other changes in industry and the economy poses serious challenges to grid resource adequacy and reliability; (4) responsible and sustainable investments in energy infrastructure to account for a significant increase in load growth can strengthen the energy security of the United States and ensure that technological growth is compatible with long-term sustainability; (5) (A) electricity prices in various regions across the United States have surged in recent years due to the need for network upgrades and new energy infrastructure to serve large loads; and (B) therefore, increasing load growth threatens to significantly increase electricity rates for ratepayers; and (6) due to the unprecedented proliferation of large load facilities, such as data centers seeking to interconnect with the transmission system, and because of the implications this proliferation poses to the reliability and stability of the interstate transmission system, the energy and national security of the United States, the affordability of electricity for residential consumers, and the global technological leadership of the United States, it is necessary for Congress to address this proliferation and provide direction to the Commission and the Department.