Data centers in California

📜 State laws

SB 886: data centers must pay for their own power hookups (2026) · Sept 21, 2026
The California Technology Innovation and Ratepayer Protection Act became law on September 21, 2026 (Chapter 438). By January 1, 2028, the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) must set new rates and rules for hooking up big customers like data centers and selling them power. The rules must stop costs from shifting to other customers and stop 'stranded costs' (bills left behind if a data center leaves). It also sets up a special path for data centers that connect straight to big power lines. Source

AB 2383: separate electric rates for data centers (2026) · Sept 21, 2026
AB 2383 became law on September 21, 2026 (Chapter 435). The CPUC must make each big utility file separate rates for data centers, for power lines and for power supply. Community power agencies (CCAs) must adopt their own data center power rates by January 1, 2028. A law firm summary says the rates must also cover wildfire and other shared costs, and allow 10-year minimum payments, exit fees and upfront deposits. Source

SB 1168: CPUC must look at how data centers share grid costs (2026) · Sept 21, 2026
SB 1168 became law on September 21, 2026 (Chapter 440). The CPUC must study rate designs so that data centers pay a fair share of power line costs and of the new power plants needed to serve them, and to ease cost pressure on home customers. Source

AB 2469: no permit until the water plan is in (2026) · Sept 21, 2026
AB 2469 became law on September 21, 2026 (Chapter 436). A city or county may not approve a permit to build or enlarge a data center unless the developer hands in a water supply assessment and a water scarcity plan (what it will do in a drought), and agrees to pay the full cost of any new water pipes, treatment or storage it needs. It applies in all cities, including charter cities. A law firm summary says it starts January 1, 2028 and also asks for job and wage details. Source

AB 2619: data centers must report water use (2026) · Sept 21, 2026
AB 2619 became law on September 21, 2026 (Chapter 437). Before asking a city or county for a business license or permit, a data center must give its water supplier a sworn estimate of how much water it will use and where the water comes from. Each time it renews its license, it must report how much water it actually used the year before. Water suppliers must count data centers in their drought planning. A similar bill (AB 93) was vetoed in 2025. Source

AB 1577: data centers must report energy use and noise (2026) · Sept 21, 2026
AB 1577 became law on September 21, 2026 (Chapter 434). When a data center asks for a land use permit, it must tell the city or county how much energy it expects to use and how loud it will be. It must also report to the California Energy Commission (CEC) its size, energy efficiency (PUE) and fuel burned by on-site generators. The CEC will publish the totals each year, without naming single sites. Source

SB 887: no skipping environmental review (2026) · Sept 21, 2026
SB 887 became law on September 21, 2026 (Chapter 439). Data centers can no longer use the 'categorical exemptions' that let some projects skip California's environmental review law (CEQA). The Governor may give faster court review to data centers that meet strict green conditions; a law firm summary says these include paying full grid costs, clean power with batteries, recycled water or waterless cooling, and a community benefits agreement. Source

SB 994: limits on secret deals (NDAs) for local officials (2026) · Sept 27, 2026
SB 994 became law in September 2026 (Chapter 669). A local official may not sign or ask for a secret deal (NDA) about public business that stops them from sharing information with the other members of their own council or board. Such NDAs are void. Officials who already signed one must disclose that it exists. NDAs that only protect trade secrets or business finances are still allowed. It is not only about data centers. Source

SB 57: study of whether data centers raise others' bills (2025) · Oct 11, 2025
SB 57 became law on October 11, 2025 (Chapter 647). It started as a bill for special data center rates but was cut back to a study. The CPUC may assess whether data center power costs are shifted onto other customers, and must post that report by January 1, 2027. Source

AB 93: first water reporting bill vetoed (2025) · Oct 2025
In 2025 Governor Newsom vetoed AB 93, which would have made data centers report water use. Lawmakers did not override the veto. In 2026 he signed a similar bill, AB 2619. Source

💡 Who pays for the power

PG&E Rule 30: big customers pay up front for power lines · July 24, 2025
PG&E asked the CPUC in November 2024 for a new rule (Electric Rule 30) for big customers, like data centers, that connect straight to high-voltage power lines (case A.24-11-007). On July 24, 2025, the CPUC let PG&E use it for now, but only for customers who pay up front for the power line work. Whether and how they get that money back was left for a final decision. In May 2026, PG&E, the state's ratepayer advocate (Cal Advocates), community power agencies (CalCCA) and the Sierra Club asked the CPUC to approve a partial settlement. No final decision was found as of October 2026. Source

San Jose data centers: slower refunds to protect other customers · Jan 15, 2026
For two 90-megawatt data centers in San Jose (STACK, October 30, 2025, and Microsoft, January 15, 2026), the CPUC limited how fast PG&E pays back the companies' up-front grid costs: at most 75% of what each pays PG&E per year, over 15 years instead of 10. Under the normal rule, STACK could have gotten about $50 million back after its first year. A 250-megawatt Google request (PG&E Advice Letter 7785-E) was still pending in early 2026. Source

How much power data centers want · Oct 30, 2025
In late 2025, data centers had asked utilities for about 11,700 megawatts from PG&E, 5,800 from SCE and 1,400 from Silicon Valley Power (Santa Clara's city utility), according to the California Energy Commission. These are requests, not real use; the CEC expects only part of it to be built. Source

💵 Tax breaks

No special state tax break for data centers · Sept 20, 2026
California has no sales tax break made just for data centers. A 2025 bill (SB 58) would have cut sales tax on data center equipment for green data centers, but it was later changed into a bill about air quality, and the tax break did not pass. Cities and counties can still offer local deals. Source

🤐 Secret deals and public records

California Public Records Act: anyone can ask · 2026
Every person has the right to see public records in California (Government Code 7922.525); you do not have to live here or say why. Within 10 days the agency must tell you whether it has records it will release and when. It can add up to 14 more days only in unusual cases, in writing. Some records can be kept secret, such as trade secrets. If they refuse, you can go to court. Source

New limit on local NDAs (SB 994) · Sept 27, 2026
From 2027, local officials cannot sign secret deals (NDAs) that keep them from sharing information with their own council or board, and they must disclose NDAs they already signed (see SB 994 under laws). NDAs that only cover trade secrets are still allowed, so ask your city or county whether any NDA about a data center exists. Source

Energy reports are published only as totals · Sept 21, 2026
Under AB 1577 the Energy Commission publishes data center energy reports only as statewide totals, and companies can ask to keep parts secret. The local energy and noise estimates go to the city or county with the permit application, so they may be public records there. Source

💧 Water

Who approves the water a data center uses · Sept 21, 2026
Most data centers buy water from a city or water district. That water supplier and the city or county deciding the permit are the main gatekeepers. The State Water Resources Control Board handles water rights. Big projects already need a 'water supply assessment' from the water supplier when they need as much water as 500 homes or cover more than 40 acres as an industrial site (Water Code 10912). From the new laws, every data center needs one (AB 2469). Source

Water use must now be reported · Sept 21, 2026
Under AB 2619 data centers give sworn water estimates before getting a business license and report real yearly use at each renewal. Water suppliers must include data centers when they plan for droughts. Source

🌫️ Air and generators

Local air districts approve backup generators · April 22, 2026
California has local air districts that issue permits for data center backup generators, for example the Bay Area Air District around San Jose and the South Coast AQMD around Los Angeles. For example, a May 2026 permit for six diesel generators at a San Jose data center allows them to run only for emergencies plus up to 20 hours a year for testing. In April 2026 the Center for Biological Diversity and community groups asked the Bay Area Air District to treat each data center as one pollution source instead of permitting each generator alone. Source

Energy Commission reviews very large generator sets · June 19, 2024
Power plants of 50 megawatts or more need a license from the California Energy Commission. Data centers with very large banks of backup generators can ask for a 'small power plant exemption' (SPPE) instead. By 2024 the CEC had given 17 of these to data centers, all but one for diesel generators, mostly in Santa Clara and San Jose. Source

🙋 How to have your say

Who decides a data center near you · 2026
In California, the city council decides land use inside city limits, and the county Board of Supervisors decides for land outside cities (unincorporated areas). A planning commission usually holds a hearing first. San Francisco is both a city and a county. Power plants of 50 megawatts or more go to the California Energy Commission; electric rates for PG&E, SCE and SDG&E go to the CPUC. Source

Speak up at the hearing, or lose the point · 2026
If you might go to court later, say your concern at the hearing or send it in writing before the hearing ends. In most cases a court will only hear issues someone raised there (Government Code 65009). Source

Deadlines to challenge a decision in court · 2026
Zoning changes, general plan changes and use permits: you must file in court and serve the city or county within 90 days of the decision (Government Code 65009). Environmental review (CEQA): 30 days after the city or county posts a Notice of Determination, 35 days after a Notice of Exemption, or 180 days if no notice was posted (Public Resources Code 21167). Many cities also let you appeal a planning commission decision to the council first; check your city's code for the deadline. Source

How a city or county can pause data centers · 2026
A city or county can pass an 'interim urgency ordinance' to pause new projects while it writes rules. It needs a four-fifths vote and lasts 45 days. After a public hearing it can be extended, up to about two years in total (Government Code 65858). Ten days before it ends, the council must publish a report on what it did. Voters can also pass a ban by ballot measure, as Monterey Park did in 2026. Source

Comment on the environmental review · Sept 21, 2026
Every new data center now needs an environmental study (SB 887). Watch for a 'Notice of Preparation' or a draft environmental report on CEQAnet or your city's site, and send written comments before the deadline in the notice. Comments become part of the record. Source

Ask for records · 2026
Anyone can file a Public Records Act request with a city, county, water district or state agency, by email or letter. Ask for agreements, NDAs, letters with the developer, water estimates (AB 2619) and energy and noise estimates (AB 1577). The agency must answer within 10 days. Source

Comment at the CPUC · 2026
You can send a public comment on any CPUC case, like PG&E's Rule 30 (A.24-11-007), on the case's page on the CPUC website. The new data center rate rules under SB 886 and AB 2383 are due by January 1, 2028, so new CPUC cases are expected. Source

🧾 Help with your bills

CARE and FERA: lower monthly electric bills · June 1, 2026
CARE takes about 30 to 35% off electric bills at big utilities (20% at small ones) and 20% off gas. FERA takes 18% off electric bills for families just above the CARE limits (PG&E, SCE and SDG&E only). Apply with your utility: PG&E 1-866-743-2273, SCE 1-800-655-4555, SDG&E 1-800-411-7343. Source

LIHEAP: one-time help with energy bills · 2026
The Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) funds LIHEAP through local agencies: help paying a utility bill, emergency help if you got a shutoff notice, and free weatherization. Find your local agency on the CSD site or call 2-1-1. Source

📞 Who to contact

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) · Oct 7, 2026
Sets rates and rules for PG&E, SCE and SDG&E, including the new data center rates. Takes public comments on its cases. Source

Public Advocates Office (Cal Advocates) · Oct 7, 2026
The state's ratepayer advocate inside the CPUC. Argues for lower bills in utility cases, including PG&E Rule 30. Source

California Energy Commission (CEC) · Oct 7, 2026
Forecasts power demand, licenses power plants of 50 MW or more, and will collect data center energy reports under AB 1577. Source

State Water Resources Control Board · Oct 7, 2026
Handles water rights and water quality permits statewide. Source

California Air Resources Board (CARB) · Oct 7, 2026
Sets statewide air rules and oversees the local air districts that permit backup generators. Source

Bay Area Air District · Oct 7, 2026
Issues air permits for data center generators in the nine Bay Area counties and posts public notices. Source

Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (State Clearinghouse) · Oct 7, 2026
Runs CEQAnet, the state list of environmental review notices, and must write statewide standards for green data centers under SB 887. Source

Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) · Oct 7, 2026
Runs LIHEAP and weatherization through local agencies. Source