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New York Weighs Guardrails for Data Centers as Pennsylvania Tests Rate Protections

Regulators seek to prevent utility upgrades for large facilities from landing on household bills.

Overview

  • Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed requiring data centers to self-supply power or pay a premium and directed the Public Service Commission to review interconnection and cost-allocation rules.
  • State Sen. Liz Krueger introduced a bill for a three-year pause on new data centers over 20 megawatts, drawing support from environmental groups and opposition from an industry coalition representing Bitcoin miners.
  • NYISO projects electricity demand could climb nearly 70% by 2030, with roughly 30 potential data-center projects seeking grid connections since 2020 averaging about 300 megawatts each.
  • PJM reports capacity auction prices jumped from $28.92 per megawatt-day in 2023 to the $333 cap in 2025, attributing the surge in part to data-center demand that feeds through to customer bills.
  • A proposed Pennsylvania rate case settlement would require large new facilities to shoulder more grid costs, which advocates say protects residential and small-business customers from future increases.