Bill > SB57

This bill authorizes the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the financial impact of data centers on electrical corporations and their customers. Specifically, the bill allows the CPUC to evaluate how new data center electricity loads might cause cost shifts to other utility customers, including analyzing potential procurement costs for meeting increased energy demands, expenses related to installing new transmission and distribution infrastructure, and the potential costs of stranded assets (infrastructure that becomes obsolete or underutilized). The assessment must identify opportunities to prevent or mitigate substantial cost shifts and must be submitted to legislative policy committees and published on the CPUC's website by January 1, 2027. The bill is motivated by California's desire to support technological innovation while ensuring that the development of large electricity-consuming data centers, particularly those supporting artificial intelligence, does not negatively impact existing ratepayers or undermine the state's climate goals. The legislation is part of a broader effort to encourage more efficient use of electrical grid assets and potentially lower electricity costs for all customers, with the provision that the assessment authorization will automatically expire on January 1, 2031.

Budget and Finance, Transportation and Infrastructure

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB57