Amendment #1218 to H5500

Data Center Commission

Mr. Pease of Westfield moves to amend the bill by inserting the following section:

SECTION XXXX. Chapter 23A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following section:

“Section 70A. No operator shall construct, expand, or operate a data center within the Commonwealth without first providing an annual electricity usage and ratepayer impact report to the secretary of energy and environmental affairs and the secretary of administration and finance.

(a)The report shall include, but not be limited to, total electricity consumption on a monthly basis.

(b) There shall be established a special legislative commission to develop recommendations on leveraging onsite energy generation and power purchasing agreements to minimize electricity cost increases due to surges in electricity demand driven by data centers that support high performance computing and artificial intelligence, industrial growth, and transportation and building electrification. Additionally, the commission shall evaluate different types of data center cooling systems and provide recommendations on which cooling systems  optimize energy efficiency while minimizing water consumption. The commission shall consist  of: the chairs of the joint committee on telecommunications, utilities, and energy, who shall serve as co-chairs; 1 member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; 1 member  appointed by the president of the senate;1 member appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives; 1 member appointed by the minority leader of the senate; the commissioner of  public utilities or their designee; the secretary of energy and environmental affairs; and the secretary of administration and finance. The commission shall submit its report, along with any recommendations, to the clerk’s office of the house of representatives and the senate no later than 1 year after the passage of this act.”

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #1218 to H5500

Data Center Commission