The Democratic governor signed a measure passed by the state Legislature last week directing the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to conduct a study on the effects these centers have on utility use and ratepayer expenses.
The measure came as rate increases of 20% took effect for most of the state this summer, although officials and utilities have taken steps to delay the impact of the higher prices until the fall.
“The high-tech data centers that are proliferating throughout the state consume a large amount of electrical power at a time when energy costs are increasing for ratepayers,” said state Sen. John Burzichelli D-Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland. “We need to know if their impact on the energy supply is causing rate increases for everyday consumers. This information will help protect residential ratepayers from being forced to subsidize high-profit data centers.”
According to the law, the BPU’s study will determine whether ratepayers are incurring unreasonable increases to support the transmission, distribution or generation of power for the data centers, and calculate the portion of rates attributable to the demands of these facilities.
“New Jersey is experiencing its own expansion in data centers with the growth of AI-focused computer companies,” said Sen. Linda Greenstein, D-Middlesex, Mercer. “This concentrated growth has implications for the regional grid, including an impact on the supply of energy and consumer costs. We need to make sure these centers are paying their fair share and that the costs aren’t falling on non-data center customers.”
The study will assess the need for special tariffs that could be applied to the data centers to compensate for costs they impose on other customers.
The study also will look at longer-term considerations to see whether investments in the power infrastructure will be needed to accommodate the demands of the data centers.
The results of the study will be submitted to the Legislature and the governor within 15 months.
© 2025 The Press of Atlantic City, Pleasantville, N.J. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
