This bill (FAIR Data Act) adds a new federal standard to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978. It says that certain investor-owned, state-regulated electric utilities (called "covered utilities") may not recover from residential or small business electric customers any costs tied to large data centers (called "covered data centers"). Covered data centers are facilities or grouped facilities at one site with a peak demand over 75 megawatts that mainly hold electronic equipment to process, store, transmit, or host digital information and the equipment that keeps that equipment running.
The bill requires State regulatory authorities to consider and decide whether to adopt this standard within set deadlines (start consideration within 6 months and finish within 1 year), and it sets rules if a State has already acted on a similar standard. It also limits when DOE funds for state regulatory authorities are allowed: a State must certify that costs tied to covered data centers will not be recovered from residential or small business consumers and must require certain reporting from data center owners who previously claimed their projects would reduce local utility bills. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) must send Congress an annual report on how covered data center demand affects residential and small business electricity rates and grid reliability.
The bill text does not include estimated costs or a federal spending estimate. It changes who may be billed by certain utilities and requires state regulatory proceedings and reporting. No publicly available information on projected federal or private costs is included in the bill text.
The bill establishes a rule that residential and small business electric customers should not be charged for costs associated with very large data centers, including grid upgrades needed to serve them. It also requires reviews by State regulators and annual FERC reporting on impacts to small customers and grid reliability.
No publicly available information.