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Policy intelligence brief

R49326 — Data Centers and the Electricity Grid: Frequently Asked Questions

A data center is a physical facility that houses computer systems for managing and transmitting data. The federal government has been pursuing policies to promote data center development, particularly as a primary component of artificial intelligence (AI), a “critical and emerging technology” with enormous data storage and processing requirements. Data centers require large quantities of electrical power. To date, data centers have generally secured power from their local electric utilities, utilizing existing tra…

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Legal stateResearch or guidanceContext or guidance does not establish a generally applicable legal requirement.
JurisdictionUnited StatesFederal-source record
Latest recorded action2026-09-02Updated by the Congressional Research Service
Primary sourceCRSOriginal public record linked

What the evidence says

Key findings

01
How it operates

Disclosure & reporting · Grid & interconnection

Forces a data center’s energy, water, and impact data into public view, so regulators, ratepayers, and communities can see figures operators would otherwise keep private. Determines whether and how fast a data center can actually get power, and who builds and pays for the transmission upgrades.

02
Issues named in the record

Energy · Grid Reliability

These themes are supported by explicit words in the title or stored summary, not graph proximity.

Comparable precedents

Related approaches worth comparing

Selected by shared tracked mechanisms or themes, with cross jurisdiction examples prioritized. Similarity is not legal equivalence.

HR-10539United States · Introduced / in committeeIntegrated Local, Regional, and Interregional Transmission Planning Act of 2026Disclosure & reporting · Grid & interconnection · EnergyPA-SB1323Pennsylvania · Introduced / in committeeAn Act providing for the regulation of commercial data centers; imposing duties on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the Department of Human Services and the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority; establishing the Data Center Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Enhancement Account and the Pennsylvania Energy Independence Account; providing for clean firm energy requirements, contract filing, commission review, disclosure requirements, backup generation standards, curtailment standards and certification and expedited interconnection for commercial data centers bringing incremental clean firm energy resources; and imposing penalties.Disclosure & reporting · Grid & interconnection · EnergyID-HB 911Idaho · Enacted or issuedElectricity, new large loadsDisclosure & reporting · Grid & interconnection · EnergyMD-SB 992Maryland · Introduced / in committeePublic Utilities - Large Load Customers - Registration and Demand Response ProgramDisclosure & reporting · Grid & interconnection · Energy
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Relationship map

R49326 evidence graph

Data Centers and the Electricity Grid: Frequently Asked Questions

11 nodes · 10 evidenced edges
Policy record 1Policy theme 4Policy mechanism 2Documented actor 1Policy family 1Jurisdiction 1Original source 1
explicitly concerns: Theme named in the title or stored summaryexplicitly concerns: Theme named in the title or stored summaryclassified under: Fixed-vocabulary topic classificationclassified under: Fixed-vocabulary topic classificationsignals mechanism: Mechanism signal derived from the tracked record textsignals mechanism: Mechanism signal derived from the tracked record textapplies in: Jurisdiction recorded for this source typedocumented by: Original source URL stored with the policy recordpublished by: Publishing organization named in the tracked public recordmember of family: standalonePolicy recordR49326Data Centers and the Electr…R49326: Data Centers and the Electricity Grid: Frequently Asked QuestionsPolicy themeEnergyExplicit record textEnergy: Explicit record textPolicy themeGrid ReliabilityExplicit record textGrid Reliability: Explicit record textPolicy themeRatepayerAI-assisted policy themeRatepayer: AI-assisted policy themePolicy themeSiting & Land UseAI-assisted policy themeSiting & Land Use: AI-assisted policy themePolicy mechanismDisclosure & reportingText-derived policy signalDisclosure & reporting: Text-derived policy signalPolicy mechanismGrid & interconnectionText-derived policy signalGrid & interconnection: Text-derived policy signalJurisdictionUnited StatesFederal policy jurisdictionUnited States: Federal policy jurisdictionOriginal sourceCRSOriginal public sourceCRS: Original public sourceDocumented actorCongressional Research…organizationCongressional Research Service: organizationPolicy familyData Centers and the E…Policy familyData Centers and the Electricity Grid: Frequently Asked Questions: Policy family

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Inspectable edges

Relationship receipts

Each edge states what was observed and why it appears. An edge never implies private influence, support, opposition, or causation.