Assembly approves SB 1168 to make data centers pay share of grid upgrade costs

The Assembly approved SB 1168, which asks the California Public Utilities Commission to evaluate methods so data centers shoulder their fair share of transmission and distribution upgrades and pay for load increases tied to their operations. Assemblymember Rogers presented the bill on the floor and said it would help “alleviate rate pressures on residential customers.”

Assemblymember De Maio spoke in strong support from the floor, calling the approach a “balanced” way to make sure data centers pay for incremental infrastructure costs rather than shifting them to households. Several members characterized the measure as complementary to other bills addressing data-center impacts on utilities. The clerk recorded a unanimous or near-unanimous passage in the transcript.

Why it matters: Large compute facilities can impose local grid upgrades and load, and the bill aims to ensure that rate increases are not borne disproportionately by residents. The measure sends the policy question to the CPUC for methods and potential implementation approaches.

Next steps: With the Assembly concurrence recorded on the floor, the bill will proceed through normal legislative transmission.