Who Pays for the AI Boom? 7 Federal and State Moves to Make Data Centers Foot Their Own Power Bill
FERC told the nation's largest grid operator to stop sticking ordinary ratepayers with data-center costs. New Jersey, Virginia, and New York went further. The fight over who pays for AI's electricity just went national.
Every AI data center is, first, an enormous electricity customer — and someone has to pay to upgrade the grid to serve it. The core policy question of 2026 is whether that someone is the data center or the family down the road whose power bill quietly rises to cover it. In the last week of June, regulators and legislatures at every level moved to put the cost back on the data centers themselves. Here are seven of those moves, from a landmark FERC order down to a Texas county resolution.
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NEW LAW
1. FERC orders PJM to stop making ratepayers subsidize data-center hookups
United States (federal — FERC, Docket RM26-4) · Enacted — order issued; 60-day complianceThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission directed PJM and other regional grid operators to revise (or defend) their tariffs within 60 days so that existing ratepayers are not unlawfully charged for the transmission upgrades needed to serve large new loads like AI data centers. A national rule aimed squarely at cost-shifting.
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NEW LAW
2. New Jersey makes 100 MW+ data centers pay for the power they reserve
New Jersey (state — S731/A796) · Enacted — passed both houses, sent to governorNew Jersey's legislature gave final approval to S731/A796, requiring large data centers (100 MW and up) to commit to paying for most of the electricity they request and to curtail or shift usage during peak grid stress — turning 'reserve it, don't use it' into a paid obligation.
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NEW LAW
3. Virginia taxes data-center electricity and writes first-ever noise + water rules
Virginia (state — FY2026-2028 budget) · Enacted — effective July 1, 2026Virginia's new two-year budget imposes a first-of-its-kind $0.011/kWh tax on data-center electricity consumption and directs regulators to set water-cooling scarcity rules and first-ever noise standards. Significant coming from the state with the world's densest data-center corridor.
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PROPOSED
4. New York's first-in-nation statewide moratorium lands on Hochul's desk
New York (state — S10642/A11560) · Awaiting governor — cleared both chambers June 4The Responsible Data Center Development Act cleared both NY chambers (Senate 44-16; Assembly 102-39) in the final hours of session, imposing a one-year moratorium on large (≥20MW) data-center permits plus utility-classification and efficiency rules. It awaits Gov. Hochul, who has not declared a position and is reportedly weighing a veto or chapter amendment.
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PROPOSED
5. Pennsylvania moves to let its municipalities hit pause
Pennsylvania (state — Coleman/Friel bills) · Proposed — advancing in the SenateTwo Pennsylvania bills advancing in the Senate would explicitly authorize municipalities to enact temporary data-center moratoriums (up to 18 months and six months) — the state clearing legal room for exactly the kind of local pauses sweeping the rest of the country.
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PROPOSED
6. Montana voters try to require a two-thirds vote before any data center
Yellowstone County, MT (county — ballot initiative) · Proposed — signature-gathering for Nov. 2026 ballotA citizen ballot initiative gathering signatures for the November 2026 ballot would require approval from two-thirds of registered voters before any data center could be built or expanded in Yellowstone County — direct democracy as a data-center brake.
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NEW LAW
7. A Texas county asks the state to force disclosure of power and water use
Morris County, TX (county) · Enacted — resolution adopted unanimouslyThe Morris County Commissioners Court unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the Governor, Legislature, PUC, and ERCOT to require data-center developers to disclose projected power and water use and undergo independent impact review — a rural county pushing the cost-transparency fight up to the state.
The through-line: 'let the data center pay its own way' has become bipartisan and multi-level, from a FERC order binding the whole PJM footprint to a single Texas county's resolution. If Gov. Hochul signs S10642, New York becomes the first state with a statewide moratorium — the biggest domino yet. We are tracking that decision and every filing behind these entries at ailawsusa.com.