Bill > A796

This bill requires electric public utilities to develop and implement special rules and tariffs for large data centers, defined as facilities with a significant electricity demand (initially proposed at 100 megawatts or more, but the Board of Public Utilities can set a lower threshold of 50 megawatts), to ensure that other customers, such as residential users, do not bear increased costs due to the high energy consumption of these data centers. These rules aim to protect existing customers from subsidizing large data centers, ensure all costs associated with serving them are assigned to the data centers themselves, and prevent other customers from being financially responsible for stranded costs if a data center ceases operations. The bill also incentivizes large data centers to improve energy efficiency, utilize waste heat, and potentially bring their own clean energy sources online, while also establishing mechanisms for financial guarantees and deposits to protect against potential rate increases.