Pennsylvania is entering a new era of energy demand. Massive data centers are seeking access to the electric grid and, in some cases, requiring amounts of electricity comparable to entire communities. As these facilities come online, we need to make sure our energy infrastructure can keep pace without shifting the costs of serving these new loads onto other electricity customers.
The principle should be simple: new energy demand should come with responsibility for the infrastructure and costs it creates.
If a data center requires new generation, transmission, distribution or other grid infrastructure, the costs should be borne by the companies creating that demand—not spread across Pennsylvania’s existing electricity customers. Specifically, my legislation will:
1. Require electric utility companies to adopt the Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) model large-load tariff, ensuring that the costs associated with serving new data center demand are properly assigned to the large loads driving that demand.
2. Require data centers to curtail their electricity use during grid emergencies, helping preserve available energy and transmission capacity when the electric system is under the greatest strain.
3. Ensure large loads cannot avoid curtailment obligations, unless they have sufficient on-site generation to serve their operations without relying on the electric grid during emergency conditions.
I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this commonsense legislation to ensure Pennsylvania has the energy, transmission capacity and grid reliability needed to support residents and businesses while keeping unnecessary costs from being shifted onto other electricity customers.