Shapiro budget puts a $10,000 daily fine on unreported power use
How it leans Load forecasts need independent validation · State legislature
What's documented Requirements quoted directly from the enacted budget bill text on the Pennsylvania legislature's site.
Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a budget on July 12 requiring data centers to report exact annual water and power usage to the state, with a $10,000 per day penalty for non-compliance. The same package gives the Pennsylvania PUC authority to review and validate the load forecasts utilities submit to PJM. Inflated load forecasts drive the infrastructure buildout that utilities earn a return on, which makes forecast validation an affordability lever, not just a paperwork one.
- Data centers must annually report total prior-year energy consumption, projected demand for the following year, and estimated average hourly usage at peak load.
- Non-compliant data centers face a $10,000 per day fine until the report is filed.
- HB1924, folded into the budget, states the current utility-to-PJM submission process 'lacks transparency for policymakers, regulators and stakeholders.'
- A sponsor memo cited PUC data showing one utility projecting over 200% load growth in nine years while the next closest projected 11%.
- PPL Electric reported in May that its advanced-stage data center pipeline grew 12% in three months, to 28.3 GW expected by 2034.