TRENTON – In response to the growing strain that new data centers are placing on our region’s electric grid, the Senate Environment and Energy committee advanced legislation sponsored by Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz that would require data center operators to submit water and energy usage reports to the Board of Public Utilities twice a year for three years. 

New Jersey is a hub for innovation, but that growth cannot come at the expense of our residents' wallets or our environment. This bill is a commonsense measure to give policymakers the tools needed to protect consumers and manage our resources responsibly,” said Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex/Hudson). “By implementing clear oversight, we can support sustainable growth without compromising the reliability of our power grid or the affordability of utility bills for New Jersey families."

Under the bill, S-3379, the owner or operator of a data center would be required to submit a water and energy usage report to the BPU within 6 months of the bill’s effective date. If a data center were in operation for at least a year before the bill’s effective date, the report would be required no later than three months after the bill’s implementation.   

Each report would include specific information related to energy and water usage, including:

• The total energy consumption in kilowatt hours, including the use of electricity, fuels, and other energy sources for cooling;
• The name of the electricity utility serving the data center and any electric service agreements between the electric utility and the data center;
• All on-site power supplies, including the primary power on site, any emergency backup power supply, and any permit information;
• The total energy consumption of information technology equipment in kilowatt hours;
• The total water input in cubic meters that includes all water volumes that enter the data center, including information technology, security, power, and environment;
• The source of water for the data center and whether water from each source is potable or reclaimed;
• Any other information determined necessary by the BPU.

Data centers that receive state financial incentives would be subject to additional reporting requirements to help ensure progress toward sustainability goals. The additional information would include performance calculations and indicators, such as the temperature range of air used to cool information technology, the average temperature of waste heat, the amount of electricity derived from renewables, and the amount of waste heat reused. 

Within 30 days of receiving a report, the BPU would publish an anonymized, aggregated summary of the data on its website. To protect confidentiality, no individual facility, owner, or operator would be identified, and reports would only be published if data from at least five data centers is available.

Performance metrics and sustainability indicators would not be disclosed, and all underlying submissions would remain confidential.

Data center owners and operators would also be required to notify the BPU at least 60 days in advance of any substantial operational or technological changes that would require updates to their reported information. After the three year reporting period expires, the BPU would then assess whether to continue the reporting requirement.