Energy x Data Centers: Why Ratepayer Protections Are Not Enough

Organized by AI Now Institute and the Data Center Working Group.

The hour long workshop will review the strongest possible interventions to protect our energy grid and ratepayers from the data center buildout—and explain why it’s not enough for the data center industry to “pay its fair share” for electricity or pursue “clean data centers.” The session will include:

• Expert analysis from Jean Su, Energy Justice Program Director and Senior Attorney the Center for Biological Diversity, on how data center expansion and corporate power are threatening our energy grid, climate futures, and everyday ratepayers
• Local, state, and federal policy interventions to protect grid stability, accelerate use of renewables (without expanding the data center buildout), and protect everyday people and localities from fossil fuel expansion
• An organizer panel with:
  • KD Minor, Community Solutions Manager at the Alliance for Affordable Energy, who will demystify industry tactics to fast-track energy permitting of data centers and share organizing and policy tips to engage with utility commissions, in Louisiana and beyond.
  • DeeDee Belmares, Co-Founder of Texas Data Center Rebellion and Clean Energy Advocate with Public Citizen, who will break down clean energy myths and showcase how Texas organizers are simultaneously fighting the data center and fossil fuel industries.
  • Marissa Paslick Gillett, Senior Fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project, who will share ratepayer protection and utility accountability strategies from her previous experience as the Chairman of Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

April 22 – June 24, 2026 | Wednesdays, 10-11 am PT / 1-2 PM ET

This is an 8-part North Star Data Center Policy in Practice training series lays out affirmative, enforceable policy pathways at the local, state, and federal levels to stop, slow and restrict the rapid expansion of AI data centers across the US.

Co-hosted with the Data Center Working Group, each session dives deep into specific policy areas from the North Data Center Policy toolkit, featuring expert-led analysis and real-world strategies from local and state organizers. The series will cover bans and moratoriums to zoning, water, energy, transparency, air quality, and beyond.

Training Sessions:

• April 22 — The AI Industry, Data Center Buildout, and How to Take Power Back
• April 29 — Bans, Moratoriums, Zoning: How to Stop or Limit Data Center Development
• May 6 — Protecting Our Water Resources, Air Quality, and Public Health from the Data Center Buildout
• *May 21— Hyperscale Data Centers and CBAs: Myths, Facts, and What We Do About It
  • *This session will be on Thursday 12-1 pm ET

• May 27 — Energy x Data Centers: Why Ratepayer Protections Are Not Enough
• June 3 — Repealing Tax Incentives, Banning NDAs, and Myth-busting Economy & Jobs Claims
• June 10 — Mapping the Data Center Industry: Who Benefits, Who Calls the Shots, and What to Do About It
• June 24 — The Intersections of Big Tech’s Nuclear Buildout and Data Center Expansion