Bill > HB1847

This bill mandates that the owner or operator of a data center, which is defined as a building primarily housing electronic equipment for processing, storing, and transmitting digital information along with necessary environmental and cooling equipment, must bear the entire cost of any infrastructure required to support its operations, including expansions or upgrades to existing utility systems. This infrastructure encompasses roads, bridges, sidewalks, water, wastewater, natural gas, electric lines, substations, transformers, telecommunications, fiber optic connections, and storm water facilities. Furthermore, electric utilities, which include municipal electric authorities, municipal electric plants, public utilities, county or city-owned electric utilities, and electric cooperatives, are explicitly prohibited from passing on the costs associated with data center infrastructure or increased electricity demand to residential customers or other commercial and industrial customers. Electric utilities are also allowed to create a new customer classification specifically for data centers to implement these provisions and must publicly document any rate increases not attributable to data centers. Complaints regarding violations can be filed with the Tennessee Public Utility Commission or the governing board of the local utility.