| As Upstate New Yorkers grapple with skyrocketing utility bills and rising prices of everyday goods, Congressman Josh Riley is drawing a line to stop out-of-state tech giants from jacking up energy bills on Upstate families, farmers, and small businesses.
This week, Riley introduced the FAIR Data Act: bipartisan legislation to ensure that the big corporations driving the demand — not New York families already struggling with rising utility bills — are the ones footing the bill for new data center projects.
Riley’s message to Big Tech is simple: pay your own way. “Upstate New Yorkers are already paying through the nose for electricity, and we shouldn’t have to pay a penny more so Big Tech can rake in record profits,” said Riley.
Riley’s FAIR Data Act builds upon his record of lowering costs and holding utility companies accountable: from introducing legislation to limit bonuses for utility company CEOs, to working to ban foreign ownership of local utility companies.
Read more about the Congressman’s efforts:
River Reporter: Riley introduces bill to stop data center projects from driving up energy bills
- Congressman Josh Riley (NY-19) introduced the FAIR Data Act, bipartisan legislation to stop data center projects from driving up energy bills for Upstate New York families and small businesses.
- Massive data center projects, which demand huge amounts of electricity, are moving ahead across Upstate New York and the country. Serving them requires costly grid upgrades, and under current rules, utility companies can pass those costs on to everyday ratepayers instead of the companies driving the demand. In the first half of 2025 alone, utilities across the country requested more than $29 billion in electricity rate increases—nearly double what they sought the year before – as they scramble to make infrastructure upgrades and meet increased need.
- Riley’s legislation ensures those costs are paid by the large corporate customers creating the demand, not the families, farmers, and small businesses already struggling with rising utility bills.
- “Upstate New Yorkers are already paying through the nose for electricity, and we shouldn’t have to pay a penny more so Big Tech can rake in record profits,” Riley said. “If out-of-state tech companies want to build data centers here, they can pay their own way—not stick Upstate families with the bill.”
WIVT: Riley introduces FAIR Data Act to protect Southern Tier residents
- Southern Tier Congressman Josh Riley is stepping in to make sure big tech companies don’t make electric bills any higher.
- Riley recently introduced a bipartisan bill called the FAIR Data Act. The goal is to stop massive power-hungry data centers from driving up energy costs for everyday families and small businesses.
- Tech companies are looking to build huge facilities across New York to power artificial intelligence. These centers use an incredible amount of electricity and require expensive upgrades to local power grids. Under current rules, utility companies can pass those massive upgrade costs right onto your monthly bill.
- Riley’s bill would force these large corporations to pay for their own grid upgrades instead of letting them go onto residents.
- With major data center projects already proposed in Lansing and Oneonta, Riley argues that if out-of-state tech giants want to build here, they need to pay their own way.
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