Story perspectives

Pennsylvania Drafting Rules for Data Centers’ Grid Costs

8/29/2026

Summary

Story summary

Washington’s Utilities and Transportation Commission is drafting rules to make data centers pay electricity costs and grid upgrades.
The commission hosted an August 12 workshop with utilities, tech firms, consumer advocates and environmental groups to debate the proposals.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro ordered data centers to cover new generation and grid upgrade costs.
Tennessee Valley Authority approved a roughly 10 % data-center rate increase and added a capacity-commitment charge for users over 5 MW.

History

Historical Context

After California’s 1996 deregulation (AB 1890) triggered the 2000-2001 electricity crisis, where wholesale prices surged up to 800 % and PG&E filed for bankruptcy, the CPUC began imposing cost-recovery rules. In 2015 it required demand-charge tariffs for data centers, a model now echoed by Washington’s utilities commission and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

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Story summary

Washington’s Utilities and Transportation Commission is drafting rules to make data centers pay electricity costs and grid upgrades.
The commission hosted an August 12 workshop with utilities, tech firms, consumer advocates and environmental groups to debate the proposals.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro ordered data centers to cover new generation and grid upgrade costs.
Tennessee Valley Authority approved a roughly 10 % data-center rate increase and added a capacity-commitment charge for users over 5 MW.

1 / 2