Committee debates data-center reporting bill; industry seeks narrower scope and protections

Assemblymember Bauer-Kehan (presenter) described AB 1577 as the Data Center Energy Accountability Act, which would require data centers to report facility-level electricity and water estimates to the California Energy Commission and to local planning agencies during permitting, while preserving trade-secret protections.

Ethan Rarick of the Little Hoover Commission said his office's report recommended confidential access to facility-level electricity-use data to help regulators model grid impacts and protect ratepayers. Supporters including local governments, environmental and consumer groups argued the bill would help planners understand localized grid impacts and water use.

Industry groups including the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the Data Center Coalition, and trade associations expressed respectful opposition to the bill as drafted, saying concerns remained about a broad definition of data center, a 500-kilowatt threshold that could sweep in midsize businesses, monthly reporting burdens, and the need for a trade-secret exemption process comparable to existing benchmarking programs. Witnesses said they welcomed the committee's negotiated amendments that increased the reporting threshold, limited reporting frequency and required a trade-secret process, and they asked to see the amended language in print.

Committee members pressed the author on limits of the amended language, which the author said removed monthly reporting in favor of an annual threshold and clarified trade-secret protections; members asked the author to provide the committee with the Little Hoover Commission report for additional context. The measure was placed on call to await final roll-call tallies.