On Tuesday, the Maine legislature in the United States approved a bill aimed at temporarily banning the construction of large data centers, defined as those with a power load surpassing 20 megawatts, until November 2027. This move positions Maine as the first state in the country to implement a legislative pause on data center development. The primary objective of the bill is to evaluate the potential risks that data centers may pose to the environment and the power grid. Given that local residents are already grappling with high electricity prices, officials are worried that a sudden increase in power demand from data centers could exacerbate these costs. To address these concerns, the bill will establish a dedicated committee tasked with studying regulatory frameworks. This committee will ensure that data centers do not contribute to rising residential electricity prices or overburden the power grid. At present, at least 11 states nationwide have put forward similar proposals for temporary restrictions. However, most of these have yet to progress through the legislative process.