Sponsor
Richard Joseph Durbin
Senator · D-IL
Senator · D-IL
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
The bill improves visibility into data center energy and water use and speeds implementation of monitoring and planning—helping prevent local supply shortfalls and encouraging efficiency—but does so by imposing new reporting duties, fees, and penalties that increase costs for operators (and likely customers) and create administrative and confidentiality risks.
State and federal planners and utilities gain regional, standardized data on data center electricity use so they can anticipate demand and reduce the risk of local power shortfalls.
Data center operators and regulators get clear, consistent metrics (PUE/WUE) and references to ISO/DOE standards, reducing regulatory uncertainty and enabling interoperable efficiency improvements.
Data centers are required to plan and report five-year energy and water use projections and reduction proposals, encouraging investments that could lower operational consumption and environmental impact.
Data center operators face new measurement, reporting, and fee-related compliance costs that will raise operating expenses and are likely to be passed on to customers or deter new investment.
Operators face steep civil penalties (up to $20,000 per day for negligent federal reporting violations), creating significant financial risk for businesses that fail to comply.
Detailed and aggregated reporting could expose commercially sensitive operational information or reveal market trends, risking competitive harm and prompting regulatory responses that raise costs for consumers.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires large data centers (≥25 MW) to report annual on-site energy/water use, PUE/WUE, five-year projections, and efficiency plans; establishes federal backup collection and fee authority.
Requires operators of large data centers (peak demand ≥25 MW) to submit annual reports on on-site energy and water use, efficiency metrics (PUE/WUE), projected five-year use, and proposed reduction measures to States or, where States do not collect, to the EPA Administrator and the Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture. Applicants for new or expanded qualifying data centers must submit comparable five-year projections and reduction plans before operation or expansion. States may set reporting formats and charge fees; the EPA and the Secretaries may collect reports and assess fees where States lack programs. Fees collected for federal collection are available without further appropriation to cover administration costs.