Newsom signs 7 bills on AI data centre energy and water use
The package tells the state utilities commission to create a rate class for data centres and makes them pay for the grid upgrades they need.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed seven bills meant to stop AI data centres passing utility costs on to residents, The Verge reported. The package requires the California Public Utilities Commission to introduce a new rate classification for data centres, and makes the centres pay for upgrades to the grid they draw on.
The Verge credited the Los Angeles Times with reporting the signings first. The prediction market account Kalshi separately said the governor had signed bills on power and water costs, and on what the grid charges. Kalshi listed no bills and gave no count. The two accounts agree on the subject and not on the detail.
The report does not say when the new rate classification takes effect, or how the commission is expected to set it. Nor does it say which of the seven bills carry the water provisions that both accounts point to.
Neither account gives bill numbers, the votes behind them, or the position of the operators affected. What the remaining bills in the package cover does not appear in either report, and no company has answered publicly.