U.S. Reps. Dean and Evans ask regulators for answers on data centers
US Representatives Madeleine Dean and Dwight Evans have sent a letter to FERC, requesting information on the agency's oversight of increased power demand from data centers and its potential impact on the electrical grid and consumer costs. This federal inquiry is set against a backdrop of ongoing debate in Pennsylvania, where state lawmakers are considering measures like advanced transmission technologies and a potential three-year pause on new data center proposals. Governor Josh Shapiro has also announced voluntary standards for developers seeking state support.
U.S. Representatives Madeleine Dean (D-4th District) and Dwight Evans (D-3rd District) have sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), urging the agency to address the increasing power demand from data centers and its potential impact on grid reliability and consumer costs. The lawmakers cited concerns about the ability of the interstate transmission capacity to handle fluctuating data center loads, as well as the environmental implications including air quality and water consumption. They also referenced a North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) alert highlighting reliability issues due to new computational loads.
This federal inquiry coincides with an ongoing debate in the Pennsylvania General Assembly regarding data center development. On May 4, the state House unanimously passed House Bill 2223, sponsored by Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, which would mandate electric utilities to evaluate advanced transmission technologies in their state regulatory commission filings for new transmission facilities.
Concurrently, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has engaged with utility companies, outlining criteria for justifiable rate-making cases and announcing voluntary standards for data center developers seeking state government support. While Republican Senate leadership expressed general agreement with the Governor's initiatives, some lawmakers from both parties have suggested repealing a 2021 sales tax exemption for data center developers. Additionally, there are calls to implement a moratorium, pausing consideration of new data center proposals for up to three years.
The debate underscores broad concerns about the rapid growth of data centers across Pennsylvania, where a statewide tracker indicates 68 sites are proposed or under construction, with an additional 72 already active. Representatives Dean and Evans have requested a response from FERC by June 30.