State senator says new data center laws will protect consumers
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two new state laws, Senate Bills 886 and 887, which were sponsored by Sen. Steve Padilla. These laws are designed to implement strong ratepayer and environmental protections from data center costs. They mandate that data centers cover all required transmission infrastructure upgrades, generation costs, and a larger share of wildfire mitigation and liability expenses.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has officially signed Senate Bills 886 and 887 into law, which are described by their sponsor, San Diego-area Senator Steve Padilla, as offering "some of the strongest ratepayer protections and environmental protections from data center costs in the country." Newsom's office confirmed the signing of the legislation.
Senator Padilla emphasized that these new laws will hold data centers accountable for all necessary transmission infrastructure upgrade costs to connect to the state's power grid. Additionally, the legislation requires data centers to cover all generation costs and assume a greater portion of wildfire mitigation and liability expenses, a burden currently borne to a lesser extent by facility operators.