Bill > S08546

This bill requires the public service commission to establish a grid modernization surcharge specifically targeting data centers that consume significant amounts of electricity, defined as facilities with an IT load exceeding 10 megawatts or high-intensity data centers with an annual power-usage effectiveness greater than 1.3 or annual electricity consumption over 50 gigawatt-hours. The surcharge will be collected as a separate line item on utility bills for these data centers, with potential reductions for centers that demonstrate at least 90% of their electricity comes from renewable resources meeting specific criteria. The funds collected will be deposited into a new grid modernization fund, which will be used exclusively to finance investments in system reliability, capacity expansion, and clean energy resource integration. The bill also requires utilities to submit annual reports detailing surcharge collections, system improvements, and other key metrics, and mandates that the public service commission provide an annual public report to state leadership summarizing the fund's activities and outcomes. Notably, the surcharge can only be applied to data center accounts and cannot be passed on to other customer classes. The act will take effect one year after becoming law, with preparatory regulatory work allowed to begin immediately.

Transportation and Infrastructure

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S8546