Sponsor
Richard Joseph Durbin
Senator · D-IL
Senator · D-IL
The bill increases transparency and planning for data-center energy and water use—improving resilience, efficiency, and local planning—while imposing new reporting obligations, fees, and potential disclosure and oversight risks that raise costs and administrative burdens.
State and federal planners (and the electricity sector) get aggregated regional data on data-center energy and water use so they can better anticipate demand, plan capacity, and reduce risk of supply shortfalls.
Data centers must submit five-year projected energy and water use and reduction plans, prompting efficiency investments that can lower operational consumption and environmental impacts over time.
States and the program have an explicit funding pathway (state fees and fee proceeds made available without further appropriation) to support data collection and enforcement, speeding implementation and reducing reliance on annual appropriations.
Data-center operators (including small providers) face new measurement, reporting and compliance obligations plus steep penalties (e.g., $20,000/day for negligent federal reporting violations), increasing operating costs that can be passed to customers.
States may impose fees on operators to fund data collection, and those fees (or higher costs) could be passed through to customers or deter investment in new facilities.
Detailed operational reporting risks exposing commercially sensitive information, which could harm competition or reveal business strategies if protections are insufficient.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Large data centers (≥25 MW) must report monthly energy/water use, PUE/WUE, and five-year projections with reduction plans to States or federal agencies if States lack programs.
Official title: Require data center operators to submit to States or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture reports on data center energy and water use, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 25, 2026 by Richard Joseph Durbin · Last progress March 25, 2026
Requires owners/operators of large data centers (peak demand ≥25 MW) to report annual on-site energy and water use, efficiency metrics, projected future use, and planned reduction measures to state authorities (or to EPA and Federal Secretaries if the state lacks a program). New construction or expansions meeting the threshold must submit similar five-year projections and reduction plans. Federal agencies may set forms, collect reports when states do not, and assess fees on operators to cover federal collection costs.