House subcommittee recommends study of grid impacts from large energy consumers, alters study language

The House Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee voted to recommend study language for House Bill 1579 that would direct the Legislative Management to study electrical grid reliability and infrastructure needs related to large energy consumers, including data centers.

The change was recommended to the full committee after subcommittee members agreed to amend the proposed study language to add several stakeholders and to expand the study scope to examine the costs of necessary upgrades and how those costs would be allocated. Representative Olsen said the item should be turned “into a study” rather than advance as a bill now because local rural electric cooperatives and other stakeholders had not had sufficient opportunity to weigh in.

The study language the subcommittee approved (as amended) calls for review of electrical-grid reliability and infrastructure requirements within the state, including the capacity of the electrical grid and necessary upgrades to accommodate large energy consumers. The subcommittee added language directing the study to identify the costs of those upgrades and how the costs would be allocated among developers, utilities and consumers.

Members amended the stakeholder list in the study language to explicitly include independent power producers; to add regional transmission organizations such as MISO and SPP in place of a previously listed Attorney General’s Office; and to add the North Dakota Petroleum Council alongside the Lignite Energy Council. Representative Olsen said independent power producers like Rainbow should be included “so they have an opportunity to give input.”

Subcommittee discussion also considered — and rejected for now — alternate language proposed by an industry group that would have replaced the existing text on regulatory consistency with broader language calling for a regulatory and policy framework and a scoring process. Representative Foss said the existing subsection B more closely reflected the original intent and recommended keeping it.

Representative Jared Novak, the subcommittee chair, said he was disappointed the proposal would not advance immediately as a bill but supported moving forward with a study to keep the issue “at the forefront.” After the subcommittee approved the amendments by voice vote, Representative Olsen moved to forward the recommendation to the full committee; Representative Foss seconded. A roll call recorded votes in favor by Novak, Foss, Olsen and Johnson, and the recommendation was approved.

The study directive names the Legislative Management as the entity to conduct the interim study during the 2025–26 interim. The final study language and any additional amendments will be considered by the full committee when it meets.

The subcommittee adjourned after forwarding the recommendation.