CaliforniaData centers: labor: electricity rates.
What it does
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the PUC to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable.
More detail
This bill would require the PUC to establish a special rate structure for data centers, as defined, taking transmission level electrical service with an estimated peak demand of at least 75 megawatts of electricity to, among other things, protect other customers of electrical corporations, prohibit cost shifts to those other customers, and require data centers to pay for the electrical corporations' upfront costs of transmission or distribution infrastructure upgrades necessary for the provision of electrical service to the data centers. The bill would require the construction of data centers subject to the special rate structure to comply with certain labor requirements.
Existing law establishes the policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 90% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2035, 95% by December 31, 2040, and 100% by December 31, 2045. Existing law requires the PUC, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the State Air Resources Board, in consultation with all California balancing authorities, to annually issue a joint report related to meeting that state policy.
This bill would require that the joint report also includes the impacts of data centers subject to the special rate structure on the state's ability to achieve the above-described state policy.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime.
Because the provisions of the bill would be part of the act and a violation of a PUC action implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- May 14May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.Latest
- May 8Set for hearing May 14.
- Apr 20April 20 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
- Vote recorded Placed on suspense file. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 10Set for hearing April 20.
- Apr 8From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 3. Noes 1. Page 3794.) (April 8). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.Minor
- Vote recorded Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]. Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 26Set for hearing April 8.
- Mar 23Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on L., P.E. & R.Major
- Mar 19From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on L., P.E. & R. (Ayes 12. Noes 4. Page 3588.) (March 17).Major
- Mar 17
- Vote recorded Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Labor, Public Employment and Retirement ]. Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 9From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E., U & C.Major
- Mar 9Set for hearing March 17.
- Feb 11Referred to Coms. on E., U & C. and L., P.E. & R.Minor
- Feb 5From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 7.
- Feb 4Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.Introduced