This legislation, titled the Ratepayer Bill of Rights Act of 2026, addresses the growing demand for electricity and water by large data centers, aiming to ensure that associated costs and impacts are transparently disclosed to the public. It applies to data centers with significant peak electricity demand or water withdrawal, including expansions that reach these thresholds. The core purpose is to protect ratepayers—including households, farmers, and small businesses—from unknowingly bearing the financial burdens of data center operations. The bill establishes a comprehensive set of ten rights for ratepayers, focusing on transparency and accountability. These rights include knowing a data center's projected and actual resource demands, understanding infrastructure costs and their impact on utility rates, and ensuring that data centers pay all project-driven expenses without shifting them to consumers. Furthermore, it mandates independent assessments to confirm sufficient water and electricity reliability for existing communities before data centers receive service commitments. Key provisions also ensure public access to information, prohibiting confidentiality claims from blocking disclosure of aggregate electricity and water use, costs, and public assistance. The bill includes protections against evasion tactics, treating related projects as one for coverage, and provides for a complaint process, audits, refunds, and civil penalties for violations. Federal agencies like FERC, DOE, EPA, and DOL are tasked with enforcing the Act within their jurisdictions, while state and local authorities retain their existing powers and can adopt stronger protections.