PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A bill passed the Oregon legislature on Thursday, aiming to shield Oregonians from taking on increased utility rates from Big Tech facilities in the state.

House Bill 3546, known as the Protecting Oregonians With Energy Responsibility (POWER) Act, would hold companies behind facilities such as data centers or cryptocurrency operations, responsible for their own utility bills,

If signed into law, the bill would create a separate pricing system for energy users who demand more than 20 megawatts, or roughly the same usage as a small city, according to the Democratic Majority Office.

“Data centers play an important role in our growing technology needs in the United States, and they need to pay their fair share for infrastructure required to meet their energy needs, rather than passing the costs on to residential ratepayers,” said Senator Janeen Sollman (D – Hillsboro, Forest Grove & Rock Creek), a chief sponsor of the bill. “Large energy users have the potential to place significant strain on the grid, especially in regions where energy capacity is already stretched thin.”

“The cost to serve certain large energy users is spilling on to other ratepayers,” added Rep. Pam Marsh (D – Southern Jackson County), a chief sponsor of the bill in the House of Representatives. “This bill will help state regulators assign these high costs to the data centers and crypto mining entities that are consuming the energy.”

The Democratic lawmakers note that industrial users currently pay about eight cents a kilowatt hour while households are charged more than double the rate at 19.6 cents per kilowatt hour.

“The bill helps protect everyday users, like families and small businesses, from paying the costs that big businesses are running up,” said Sen. Deb Patterson (D – Salem), who co-sponsored the POWER Act. “Household budgets are stretched far enough as they are. They shouldn’t be covering corporate costs, too.”

The POWER Act passed the Senate in an 18-12 vote on Tuesday, with the Oregon House of Representatives concurring for the bill’s final passage on June 5. The bill now heads to Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s desk for signature.

When the bill was introduced in the House, Rep. David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford) raised concerns that the bill would discourage tech companies from growing their presence in Oregon.

In his letter – which was supported by industry advocates such as the Data Center Coalition along with unions IBEW 48, IBEW 280 and UA 290 – Brock Smith said, “data centers strengthen grid reliability through infrastructure investments and help stabilize residential electricity rates by providing consistent demand. The current proposed legislation, with its misaligned regulations, threatened these widespread community benefits and could discourage future development that supports our digital economy.”

The bill comes as large technology companies are facing two growing demands to raise their energy supply for artificial intelligence and data centers, while meeting long-term goals of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, as reported by the Associated Press.

AI uses “vast amounts of energy,” AP said, noting a 2024 report from the United States Department of Energy estimated that the electricity needed for data centers in the U.S. tripled in the last decade and is anticipated to double or triple again in 2028, when tech companies could consumer 12% of the nation’s energy.