NY State Senate Bill 2025-S8546

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Oct 24, 2025	referred to rules

2025-S8546 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Public Service Law
Laws Affected:: Add §66-x, Pub Serv L; add §1005-e, Pub Auth L; add §85, St Fin L

2025-S8546 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the public service commission establish a grid modernization surcharge imposed on utilities for the energy use of data centers and high-intensity data centers which meet a specified threshold of electricity or information-technology load; establishes the grid modernization fund to finance investments in system reliability, capacity expansion, and integration of clean energy resources.

2025-S8546 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8546

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public service law and the public authorities law,
in relation to establishing a grid modernization surcharge; and to amend
the state finance law, in relation to establishing the grid moderniza-
tion fund

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To ensure that large data centers, whose significant electricity
consumption strains New York's electrical grid and contributes to rising
energy costs, bear a fair share of the cost of modernizing and maintain-
ing that grid.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

The bill adds a new section 66-x to the Public Service Law directing the
Public Service Commission to establish a grid modernization surcharge
collected by electric corporations from large data centers based on

energy usage. Revenues will be deposited into a new Grid Modernization
Fund under the State Finance Law, used exclusively for grid reliability,
capacity expansion, and clean energy integration.

The Public Authorities Law is amended to require the New York Power
Authority to impose and remit an equivalent surcharge on data center
customers it serves, consistent with PSC regulations.

The bill prohibits utilities from passing any surcharge costs to other
customer classes and requires annual public reporting on collections,
disbursements, and measurable grid improvements.

The act takes effect one year after becoming law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The exponential growth of energy demand from data centers, driven by
artificial intelligence and cloud computing, strains our electrical
grids, creates a disproportionate use of resources, and leads to higher
energy costs for households and small businesses. The immense increase
in demand for electricity boosts wholesale energy market prices, espe-
cially during peak demand periods. This affects all customers, as utili-
ties often pass these higher generation costs on to everyone.

Further, data centers use millions of gallons of water per day for cool-
ing, creating additional environmental stress. As one of the few states
with abundant clean fresh water, New York is a particularly appealing
location for these centers and must be prepared to take action to
control the use of this vital resource.

At the same time, much of the state's electric grid is aging and
increasingly constrained. Upgrades to substations, feeders, and trans-
mission lines are urgently needed to maintain reliability and accommo-
date renewable generation. Yet, without targeted funding, those costs
would otherwise fall to residential and small business ratepayers.


This legislation ensures that the largest consumers of electricity, the
very entities driving demand for new infrastructure, contribute equit-
ably to maintaining and strengthening the system they rely on.  By
establishing a surcharge based on usage and creating a dedicated Grid
Modernization Fund, the bill enables New York to meet the demands posed
by data center growth while holding those facilities financially
accountable for their extraordinary energy needs. It may also encourage
data center operators to invest in and build their own clean energy
infrastructure, reducing strain on the statewide grid.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law.

2025-S8546 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8546
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             October 24, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the public service law and the public  authorities  law,
   in  relation  to  establishing  a grid modernization surcharge; and to
   amend the state finance law, in  relation  to  establishing  the  grid
   modernization fund
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a  new  section
 66-x to read as follows:
   §  66-X.    GRID  MODERNIZATION SURCHARGE. 1. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS
 SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A) "DATA CENTER" MEANS ANY FACILITY  WITH  AN  INFORMATION-TECHNOLOGY
 (IT) LOAD EXCEEDING TEN MEGAWATTS (MW) OF ELECTRICAL DEMAND, USED PRIMA-
 RILY FOR THE STORAGE, MANAGEMENT, PROCESSING, OR TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL
 INFORMATION; AND
   (B)  "HIGH-INTENSITY  DATA  CENTER" MEANS A DATA CENTER WITH AN ANNUAL
 POWER-USAGE EFFECTIVENESS (PUE) GREATER THAN 1.3 OR AN ANNUAL  ELECTRIC-
 ITY CONSUMPTION EXCEEDING 50 GIGAWATT-HOURS.
   2.  (A) THE COMMISSION SHALL BY REGULATION ESTABLISH A GRID MODERNIZA-
 TION SURCHARGE TO BE COLLECTED BY EACH ELECTRIC CORPORATION  FROM  EVERY
 COVERED  DATA  CENTER  ACCOUNT  AS  A SEPARATE LINE ITEM ON THE CUSTOMER
 BILL. THE COMMISSION SHALL SET THE SURCHARGE AS A RATE PER KILOWATT-HOUR
 OR PER MEGAWATT-HOUR BILLED TO SUCH ACCOUNTS AND  MAY  DIFFERENTIATE  BY
 VOLTAGE LEVEL OR SERVICE CLASS.
   (B)  A  COVERED  DATA  CENTER  THAT  DEMONSTRATES, THROUGH INDEPENDENT
 VERIFICATION ACCEPTABLE TO THE COMMISSION, THAT AT LEAST NINETY  PERCENT
 OF  ITS  ANNUAL  ELECTRICITY  CONSUMPTION  IS MET BY RENEWABLE RESOURCES
 UNDER  CONTRACTS  THAT  MEET  COMMISSION-ESTABLISHED  ADDITIONALITY  AND
 DELIVERABILITY  CRITERIA  MAY RECEIVE A PARTIAL OR FULL REDUCTION OF THE
 SURCHARGE.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13962-03-5

 S. 8546                             2
 
   (C) THE COMMISSION SHALL REQUIRE EACH  ELECTRIC  CORPORATION  TO  FILE
 TARIFF  RIDERS  IMPLEMENTING  THIS SECTION AND SHALL ESTABLISH VERIFICA-
 TION, AUDITING, AND PENALTY PROVISIONS FOR NON-COMPLIANCE.
   3.  NO UTILITY SHALL IMPOSE OR PASS THE SURCHARGE ESTABLISHED PURSUANT
 TO SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION TO ANY CUSTOMER.   AMOUNTS  COLLECTED
 PURSUANT  TO  THIS  SECTION  SHALL BE BILLED ONLY TO COVERED DATA CENTER
 ACCOUNTS AND SHALL NOT BE RECOVERED FROM ANY OTHER CUSTOMER CLASSES.
   4. (A) EVERY UTILITY SHALL PREPARE AN ANNUAL  REPORT  ON  COLLECTIONS,
 EXPENDITURES,  AND  MEASURABLE  SYSTEM  IMPROVEMENTS,  OUTAGE FREQUENCY,
 CONGESTION FREQUENCY, OR RENEWABLE CAPACITY  INTERCONNECTION  RATES  AND
 SUBMIT SUCH REPORT TO THE COMMISSION.
   (B)  THE COMMISSION SHALL SUBMIT AN ANNUAL PUBLIC REPORT TO THE GOVER-
 NOR, THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE  SENATE,  AND  THE  SPEAKER  OF  THE
 ASSEMBLY  SUMMARIZING  TOTAL  COLLECTIONS,  DISBURSEMENTS  FROM THE GRID
 MODERNIZATION FUND, PROJECT STATUS, AND  QUANTIFIED  OUTCOMES  INCLUDING
 RELIABILITY  INDICES,  CONGESTION  RELIEF,  ADDED  HOSTING CAPACITY, AND
 INTERCONNECTION PROCESSING TIMES.
   5. ANY FUNDS COLLECTED PURSUANT TO THIS  SECTION  SHALL  BE  DEPOSITED
 INTO  THE GRID MODERNIZATION FUND ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTION EIGHT-
 Y-FIVE OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW TO FINANCE INVESTMENTS IN  SYSTEM  RELI-
 ABILITY, CAPACITY EXPANSION, AND INTEGRATION OF CLEAN ENERGY RESOURCES.
   §  2.  The  public  authorities law is amended by adding a new section
 1005-e to read as follows:
   § 1005-E.  GRID MODERNIZATION SURCHARGE.  1. THE AUTHORITY SHALL ADOPT
 AND ENFORCE AN EQUIVALENT SURCHARGE FOR COVERED  DATA  CENTER  CUSTOMERS
 SERVED BY THE AUTHORITY AND SHALL REMIT ALL RECEIPTS TO THE GRID MODERN-
 IZATION  FUND.  THE  AUTHORITY  SHALL COORDINATE WITH THE PUBLIC SERVICE
 COMMISSION TO ENSURE CONSISTENCY WITH REGULATIONS ADOPTED UNDER  SECTION
 SIXTY-SIX-X OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE LAW.
   2.  SUCH SURCHARGE SHALL BE DEPOSITED INTO THE GRID MODERNIZATION FUND
 ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTION EIGHTY-FIVE OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW.
   § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new  section  85  to
 read as follows:
   §  85.  GRID MODERNIZATION FUND. 1. THERE IS HEREBY ESTABLISHED IN THE
 JOINT CUSTODY OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER AND THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  COMMIS-
 SION, A SPECIAL FUND TO BE KNOWN AS THE "GRID MODERNIZATION FUND".
   2.  SUCH FUND SHALL CONSIST OF ALL MONEYS COLLECTED PURSUANT TO SUBDI-
 VISION TWO OF SECTION SIXTY-SIX-X OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE  LAW.    NOTHING
 CONTAINED IN THIS SECTION SHALL PREVENT THE STATE FROM RECEIVING GRANTS,
 GIFTS,  OR  BEQUESTS  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF THE FUND AS DEFINED IN THIS
 SECTION AND DEPOSITING THEM INTO THE FUND ACCORDING TO LAW.
   3. MONIES OF THE FUND SHALL BE EXPENDED ONLY TO FINANCE INVESTMENTS IN
 SYSTEM RELIABILITY, CAPACITY EXPANSION, AND INTEGRATION OF CLEAN  ENERGY
 RESOURCES.
   4.  MONIES  SHALL BE PAYABLE FROM THE FUND ON THE AUDIT AND WARRANT OF
 THE COMPTROLLER ON VOUCHERS APPROVED AND CERTIFIED BY THE PUBLIC SERVICE
 COMMISSION.
   § 4. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become  a
 law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
 rule  or  regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its
 effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such
 effective date.

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Senate Bill S8546

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Actions

2025-S8546 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S8546 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S8546 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8546 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Sponsored By

Rachel May

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Actions

2025-S8546 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S8546 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S8546 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8546 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments