The Fear Index
Rank 1 of 9
Power bills and data centers
92
on the Fear Index
Bills46
Lobbying filings295
Attention70.3K
The receipts
66,689Wikipedia views on this fear in the last 30 days
3,632news articles about it in the last 30 days
46bills, rules and orders cite it since January 2025, in 15 states and Congress
34new government controls written into those bills
295federal lobbying filings name it, past year
$190Kspent lobbying on it by advocacy groups, past year
In their own words
The fear as the bill states it, and the power the same bill hands out.
“these laws must ensure such centers do not increase consumers' utility bills and do not harm the environment”
S. 4214, CongressPendingData center limitsExport controlsLicense to buildMandatory reportingDepartment of Commerce“requires HPC facility operators to produce an annual report of the facility's energy consumption and carbon footprint”
SB 1832, TennesseePendingData center limitsMandatory reporting“designates the department of environmental conservation as the mandatory lead agency for environmental quality review of any action consuming over 20 megawatts”
S 9182, New YorkPendingData center limitsNew York Department of Environmental Conservation“prohibiting the governing board of a water management district or the Department of Environmental Protection from issuing a permit for the consumptive use of water to a large-scale data center under certain circumstances”
SB 484, FloridaPendingData center limitsFlorida Department of Environmental Protection“protect residents from increased utility costs and utility shortages caused by data centers”
SB 135, South DakotaPassedData center limits
What it's buying
The government controls written into the bills that cite this fear.
- 1Moratoriums and limits on data centers23bills
- 2Mandatory reporting to government8bills
- 3Export controls on models and chips1bills
- 4Licenses required to build AI1bills
- 5New powers for government agencies1bills
Who's funding it
Advocacy groups and foundations lobbying on this fear, past year.
Who benefits
Agencies and officials these bills would hand new power.
- 1South Carolina Department of Environmental Services4bills
- 2South Carolina Public Service Commission3bills
- 3Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection2bills
- 4New Jersey Board of Public Utilities2bills
- 5Department of Commerce1bills
Industry at the table
Companies and trade groups whose lobbying filings name this fear, past year.
- 1Coreweave9 filings
- 2Edison Electric Institute7 filings
- 3Oracle6 filings
- 4Switch6 filings
- 5Portland General Electric5 filings
- 6Duke Energy4 filings
Money, bills and attention
Lobbying filings naming it
Bills citing it
Wikipedia views
Each dot is 6 bills. Sources: LDA.gov lobbying filings that mention this fear, bills tagged with it, and Wikipedia pageviews for its topic.
Latest on this fear
- Lobbying filing2026-09-17Fiber Broadband Association reported $116K in lobbying that mentions AI
- Statement2026-09-16NetChoice: Data Centers 101: Are Data Centers Really Driving Up Your Electric Bill?
- Statement2026-09-15Nvidia: From Megawatts to Tokens: How NVIDIA Maximizes AI Factory Production
- Bill2026-09-09Pennsylvania HB 2760: An Act providing for the protection of water supplies by requiring commercial data centers to restore or replace a polluted or diminutive water… (Referred to Environmental & Natural Resource Protection)
- Lobbying filing2026-08-31Clean Energy Buyers Association (formerly Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance) reported $200K in lobbying that mentions AI, naming H.R. 1077, H.R. 1687, H.R. 2072, H.R. 301, H.R. 4128, H.R. 4776, H.R. 5631, H.R. 6633, H.R. 7977, H.R. 8308, H.R. 8437, S. 1020, S. 3814, S. 3947, S. 4116, S. 456, S. 4795
- Lobbying filing2026-08-31Clean Energy Buyers Association (formerly Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance) reported $210K in lobbying that mentions AI, naming H.R. 1047, H.R. 1077, H.R. 1687, H.R. 1698, H.R. 1994, H.R. 2072, H.R. 2301, H.R. 2703, H.R. 2813, H.R. 2986, H.R. 301, H.R. 3638, H.R. 3657, H.R. 3751, H.R. 4503, H.R. 4776, H.R. 522, H.R. 5441, H.R. 5576, H.R. 5587, H.R. 5597, H.R. 5600, H.R. 5617, H.R. 5631, H.R. 5639, H.R. 573, H.R. 5964, H.R. 603, H.R. 6176, H.R. 6287, H.R. 6336, H.R. 6357, H.R. 6474, H.R. 6529, H.R. 6633, H.R. 6709, H.R. 6805, H.R. 7568, H.R. 7606, H.R. 7607, H.R. 7741, S. 1020, S. 1183, S. 1968, S. 3016, S. 3088, S. 3287, S. 3497, S. 3518, S. 3814, S. 3926, S. 4166, S. 456, S. 896
The bills
The ones carrying the most controls, first.
- S. 4214, CongressPendingData center limitsExport controlsLicense to buildMandatory reporting
- S 867, South CarolinaPendingData center limitsNew agency powers
- SB 1832, TennesseePendingData center limitsMandatory reporting
- S 784, South CarolinaPendingData center limitsMandatory reporting
- HB 2760, PennsylvaniaPendingData center limits
- A 5294, New JerseyPendingData center limits
- A 10852, New YorkPendingData center limits
- H 5484, South CarolinaPendingData center limits
- HF 2447, IowaPendingMandatory reporting
- S 9182, New YorkPendingData center limits