Lawmakers passed House Bill 1834 with a 104-95 vote.
Lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 104-95 to approve legislation that would task the state Public Utility Commission with developing statewide regulations for data centers as local concerns grow over their effects on communities – and electricity bills.
The legislation, House Bill 1834, would direct the PUC to develop temporary and permanent regulations for commercial data centers to curb the effects that power-hungry data centers could have on electricity rates.
Among other provisions, the bill would require data center regulations developed by the PUC to bar electric companies from passing on costs of infrastructure updates and energy demands from data centers onto customers. HB 1834 would also require the PUC’s data center regulation to ensure data centers are responsible for costs associated with regional transmission, network upgrades, grid reliability and PJM emergency capacity procurement caused by commercial data centers.
Route Fifty
By Justin Sweitzer,
Managing editor, City & State Pennsylvania
March 25, 2026