California signs data center bills

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed seven bills requiring data centers to disclose how much electricity and water they use, starting next year.

Communities demand answers

Data centers are spreading across the US, triggering protests over their impact on power grids and water supplies. The problem: nobody knows how much energy or water they actually consume.

Separate power rates for data centers

Three bills direct California's Public Utilities Commission to create separate power rates for data centers, preventing them from passing infrastructure costs to other consumers.

Renewable energy requirements

Assembly Bill 2383 pushes data centers to use more renewable energy while creating separate power rates.

Monthly electricity reporting required

Assembly Bill 1577 requires data centers to report their energy consumption every month, giving scientists and the public real data to work with.

“"As scientists, when we went to research state offers in California, I was kind of dismayed by the lack of information that there was to work with."”

Water use must be disclosed

Two bills require data centers to disclose water use and make operators pay for infrastructure upgrades needed to serve them.

Environmental reviews now mandatory

Senate Bill 887 eliminates categorical exemptions from California's Environmental Quality Act, ensuring data centers face environmental review.

Electricity costs could go either way

Data centers might lower electricity bills by spreading fixed grid costs across more customers, or raise them through expensive new infrastructure and overbuilding risks.

Water secrecy was total

Researchers contacting every water provider in districts with data centers found all refused to share usage data, citing privacy rules. Few data centers had public environmental reports.

Data centers moving to rural areas

As AI drives hyperscale data center development, facilities are moving from affluent urban areas into rural regions where small water systems and lower-income communities struggle to cope.

Reporting gaps remain

Water disclosure laws only require reporting when applying for permits or licenses, not year-round. A single report may not reflect actual seasonal water needs.

A step in the right direction

The laws signal that lawmakers are paying attention to data centers. Unlike last year's vetoed water bill, public concern has grown enough to drive change.

“"The whole AI wave is not a force of nature, it's not a hurricane. This is something that we can actually regulate."”