S 3379 — Requires data center owners and operators to submit semi-annual water and energy usage reports to BPU.

S3379 1R2R [First[Second Reprint] SENATE, No.

TERESA RUIZ District 29 (Essex and Hudson) Senator  RAJ MUKHERJI District 32 (Hudson)  Assemblyman  Co-SponsoredMICHAEL by:VENEZIA District 34 (Essex) Assemblywoman  SHAMA A.

SenatorsHAIDER Diegnan,District Beach,37 McKnight,(Bergen) GreensteinAssemblywoman  andROSAURA Turner"ROSY"  BAGOLIE  District  27  (Essex SYNOPSIS      Requires data center owners and operatorsPassaic) to  submitCo-Sponsored semi-annualby: water and energy usage reports to BPU.

Senators Diegnan, Beach, McKnight, Greenstein, Turner, Assemblywoman Brennan, Assemblymen Sampson, Walker, Onyema, Kearney, Assemblywomen Peterpaul, Donlon, Morales, Assemblyman Bhalla, Assemblywomen Quijano, Swain and Assemblyman Tully   CURRENT  VERSION  OF  TEXTSYNOPSIS      AsRequires amendeddata bycenter theowners Senateand onoperators Februaryto 24,submit 2026.semi-annual water and energy usage reports to BPU.

  CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT      As reported by the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee on June 4, 2026, with amendments.

        1. 1.   a.  As used in this section:section:        “Board” means the Board of Public Utilities.

      “Board”“Data center” means a facility:  (1) whose primary services are the Boardstorage, management, and processing of Publicdigital Utilities.data;

      “Data center” means a facility:

(1) whose primary services are the storage, management, and processing of digital data;

2“Data center” shall not include a facility that is used primarily for internal operations by a licensed health care facility or licensed health care provider so long as the facility does not operate as a commercial data processing or colocation facility for an unaffiliated entity.2       “Electric public utility” means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).

      b. b.   No later than six months after the effective date of this section, or, for a data center that has been in operation for at least one year as of the effective date of this section, no later than three months after the effective date of this section, and on a semi-annual basis thereafter, the owner or operator of a data center in the State shall prepare and submit a water and energy usage report to the Board of Public Utilities that contains the following information, at a minimum:minimum:        (1)  basic information relating to the data center, including:

      (1)(a)  basicthe informationname relatingof to the data center,center; including:

      (a)(b)  the nameowner or operator of the data center;

      (b)(c)  the owneraddress or operator of the data center;

      (c) the address of the data center;

      (2)(2)  information related to energy and water usage at the data center, including:including:        (a)  the total energy consumption in kilowatt hours, including the use of electricity, fuels, and other energy sources used for cooling;

      (a)(b)  the totalname energyof consumptionthe inelectric kilowatt2public2 hours,utility includingserving the usedata ofcenter electricity,and fuels,any andelectric otherservice energyagreements sourcesbetween usedthe forelectric cooling;2public2 utility and the data center;

      (b)(c)  theall nameon-site ofpower thesupplies, electricincluding utilityany servingprimary thepower dataon centersite and emergency backup power supply and any electricpermit serviceinformation agreementssuch betweenas thepermit electricnumbers, utilitycapacity, andtier level, fuel type, total permitted emissions for the data center;center, and any other relevant information;

      (c) all on-site power supplies, including any primary power on site and emergency backup power supply and any permit information such as permit numbers, capacity, tier level, fuel type, total permitted emissions for the data center, and any other relevant information;

      (e)(e)  the total 2and peak daily2 water input in cubic meters that includes all water volumes that enter the data center that are used for the functions of the data center, including information technology, security, power, and environment;

and       (f)(f)  the source of water for the data center 2,2 including a municipal2[municipal] public2 water supply,2[supply] system2, groundwater, 2and2 surface water, and whether water from such sources is potable or reclaimed.  2If a data center uses water from a public water system, it shall provide the name of the public water system and any water service agreements between the public water system and the data center.2  If a data center utilizes more than one water source, the data center shall provide information regarding water usage from each source as a percentage of total water usage;

and       (3)(3)  any other information determined by the board to be necessary.

of this section, the following information:information:        (a)  performance calculations and indicators for the data center, including the energy reuse factor, power usage effectiveness, renewable energy factor, and water usage effectiveness;

and       (a)(b)  performancesustainability calculations and indicators for the data center, includingincluding:        (i) the energyaverage reuseset factor,point powerinformation usagetechnology effectiveness,equipment renewableintake energyair factor,temperature andin waterdegrees usageFahrenheit, effectiveness;which shall be measured as the average set point temperature in all of the data center’s computer rooms over a 12-month period;

and       (b) sustainability indicators for the data center, including:

      (i) the average set point information technology equipment intake air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit, which shall be measured as the average set point temperature in all of the data center’s computer rooms over a 12-month period;

      (2)(2)  If a data center does not receive a financial incentive from any State agency, the information required in paragraph (1) of this subsection may be submitted to the board at the data center’s discretion.

      d. d.   2(1)2 Within 30 days of receiving a water and energy usage report from the owner or operator of a data center pursuant to subsection b.

of this section.  Information submitted to the board pursuant to this2[this]2 subsection shall2c. be confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure under the P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), or the common law right of access to a public record, except that such information as anonymized and aggregated from at least five facilities shall be included in the report.

     of e. this Ansection2 ownershall be confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure under 2[the]2 P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), or operatorthe common law right of access to a datapublic centerrecord, except that hassuch submittedinformation aas wateranonymized and energyaggregated usagefrom reportat toleast thefive boardfacilities pursuantshall tobe subsectionincluded b.in the report.

      2(2)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to abridge, alter, or amend:        (a)  the obligations of any State agency, other than the board, to disclose information pursuant to any other law, rule, or regulation, including, but not limited to, the “Senator Byron M.

Baer Open Public Meetings Act,” P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq.), and P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.);

and       (b)  with respect to information submitted to the board for purposes other than compliance with subsection c.

of this section, the board’s obligations to disclose information pursuant to any other law, rule, or regulation, including, but not limited to, the “Senator Byron M.

Baer Open Public Meetings Act,” P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq.), and P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.).2       e.   An owner or operator of a data center that has submitted a water and energy usage report to the board pursuant to subsection b.

      f. f.    The reporting requirement established pursuant to subsection b.

of this section shall 1[be in effect for a period of three years following the effective date of this act] apply for a period of three years, beginning on the date a data center first submits a water and energy usage report to the board, regardless of when the data center commenced operation or the effective date of this act1.  Upon conclusion of 2the2 reporting time period, the board shall determine whether to continue this requirement on a permanent basis.  In the event the board determines the reporting requirement shall continue on a permanent basis, the board shall, in accordance with the "Administrative“Administrative Procedure Act,"Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

      g. g.   The board shall consult and coordinate with the Department of Environmental Protection in implementing the provisions of this section.

       2.2.    This act shall take effect immediately.

This act shall take effect immediately.