Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a budget on July 12, 2026, that will require data centers to report their exact water and power usage annually to the state, according to an article published July 14, 2026, in Utility Dive. The budget also mandates that PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, give Pennsylvania state regulators additional insight into its demand forecasting. The move comes as data center development in the state has surged, with one utility reporting its "advanced" stage data center pipeline jumped 12% in three months to reach 28.3 GW expected by 2034.
Data centers in Pennsylvania will now be required to compile annual reports containing their estimated average energy usage per hour during peak load, total energy consumption for the previous calendar year, and an estimate of projected total energy demand for the following year, the budget states. The reports must also include any measures undertaken to generate electricity on site or off site to reduce carbon emissions or impacts on the electric grid, including the specific energy source, and any potential future measures to generate power. Data centers that fail to comply will be fined $10,000 per day until their report is submitted. The state Department of Environmental Protection will publish an annual report on aggregate energy and water consumption trends for data centers operating in the state, including environmental impacts and recommendations to address identified issues.
House Bill 1924, which was folded into Pennsylvania's 2026-2027 budget, states that "the current process by which utilities submit information to PJM lacks transparency for policymakers, regulators and stakeholders," and declares "there is a need for oversight by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to ensure accuracy and transparency of load-forecast inputs." An October memo circulated by state senators Gene Yaw and Nick Miller said "the process by which utilities and load-serving entities submit information to PJM is opaque, and policymakers, regulators, and stakeholders lack confidence in the data's reliability." The memo noted that the Pennsylvania PUC "showed one utility is projecting its load to grow over the next 9 years by over 200% while the next closest utility was at 11% over the same period," raising questions about how Pennsylvania utilities evaluate requests for new service from large customers.
The legislation gives the Pennsylvania PUC the authority to review and validate load forecasts submitted by Pennsylvania utilities to PJM, coordinate with PJM and other state regulators to ensure accuracy and prevent duplicative counting of projects and contracts, and access all relevant materials necessary to carry out this oversight, the memo said. State Sen. Gene Yaw, who sponsored the original legislation, said in a Monday release that the PJM language in the budget will help state agencies "better understand future electricity needs as demand continues to increase." The reporting requirements come after utility PPL Electric reported in May that its advanced stage data center pipeline had jumped from 25.2 GW to 28.3 GW expected by 2034 in just three months, reflecting the rapid expansion of data center development in Pennsylvania.
The new oversight framework addresses growing tensions between Pennsylvania and PJM. Gov. Shapiro was one of the PJM state governors who in September threatened to pull their states out of PJM's markets unless they were given a role in governing the organization, saying "if PJM refuses to change, we will be forced to go in a different direction." The wide disparity in utility load growth projections, with one utility forecasting over 200% growth over nine years while another projected only 11%, highlights the transparency gaps the legislation aims to fix. The annual reporting requirements and enhanced PUC oversight are designed to ensure that as data center demand continues to surge, state regulators have the tools to accurately track energy consumption and hold utilities accountable for their forecasting.