Senator Alan Armstrong Proposes Permitting Reform to Shift Data Center Energy Costs

Armstrong argues that the industry has become a “scapegoat on high energy prices” and that his proposal would prevent households from bearing the incremental expenses of new AI-driven loads.

Newsweek

Public resistance to AI data centers is high; Gallup's March 2-18 survey found that 71 % of U.S. adults opposed building an AI data center in their locality, with 48 % strongly opposed and only 7 % strongly in favor. At the same time, an August 2026 analysis by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Brattle Group reported that U.S. data-center electricity demand more than doubled from 2018 to 2024 and could roughly triple between 2024 and 2028. Research on the price impact is split: a September study by Cameron Scalera, Valentina Bosetti, and Filippo Pecci linked an average-sized hyperscale facility to a 4 % rise in residential electricity rates, while an Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) study concluded that doubling data-center capacity lowered residential rates by about 3.5 %.

Newsweek

• 71 % of Americans oppose local AI data centers (Gallup).

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• Data-center demand > 2× from 2018-2024; projected ? 3× growth 2024-2028 (Berkeley Lab/Brattle).

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• 4 % residential price increase per average hyperscale facility (Scalera et al.).

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• 0 % effect in territories served by nonprofit utilities (Scalera et al.).

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• 3.5 % residential price decrease when capacity doubled (EPRI).

Newsweek

Armstrong told Newsweek that the nation needs new power infrastructure to meet growing electricity demand without shifting costs to households. He also emphasized the need for clear AI safety standards while keeping the U.S. attractive to tech investors, rejecting any approach that would “stop progress.” Researchers cited in the article note that the cost impact depends on existing grid capacity and how regulators allocate infrastructure expenses.

Newsweek

• “I think that we have to have data centers,” — Alan Armstrong, oklahoma republican senator

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• “The data centers will be obligated to make sure they pay not only their fair share, but actually a little bit more than their fair share for power,” — Alan Armstrong, oklahoma republican senator

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• “You know, this has been a really invigorating opportunity for me. Didn't see this coming.” — Alan Armstrong, oklahoma republican senator

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• “It's also been very frustrating about how slow things go there and how hard it is to get people to focus on big, long-term issues like permitting reform, because it's not popular,” — Alan Armstrong, oklahoma republican senator

Newsweek