Overview
- The House, which approved the energy bill Tuesday in a 104-95 vote, sent it to the Republican-controlled Senate for consideration.
- The bill requires large data centers to pay for new electricity infrastructure and bars shifting those costs onto households and small businesses, with the Public Utility Commission setting rules and collecting security deposits.
- The plan sets rising clean power targets for data centers at 10% in 2027, 14.5% by 2030, and 32% by 2035, and it allows grid operators to order cutbacks during peak strain, which industry groups say would disrupt service.
- Separately, a water-oversight bill advanced out of a House committee would make developers file detailed withdrawal plans before construction and would let the Department of Environmental Protection reject projects that harm waterways or other users.
- Support split largely along party lines with two Bucks County Republicans joining Democrats, as lawmakers cited rapid growth in the sector and floated a separate proposal for annual energy and water reporting.