Pennsylvania, an epicenter of the data center boom, is finalizing a new framework to make the energy-hungry facilities shoulder more of their costs to the electrical grid.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on Thursday voted 5-0 to advance a new model tariff for large-load customers — essentially setting new guidance for how the commonwealth’s utilities can ensure the public doesn’t pay for data center infrastructure.
With billions of dollars in grid upgrades planned, regulators and utilities are concerned about those costs shifting onto smaller customers if data centers don’t materialize or if they demand less power than expected. To address that, the new framework includes collateral requirements, up-front fees and contractual cost obligations.
Pennsylvania is the fastest-growing data center market in the PJM region, with some analysts predicting more than 7,000 megawatts in demand growth over the next decade — a 4,000 percent increase for the sector.
