House committee reviews H.727 data-center bill, debates decommissioning and financial protections

The House Energy and Digital Infrastructure committee on March 12 conducted a line‑by‑line walkthrough of draft 1.3 of H.727, the bill that would set new requirements for large data centers, and paused final decisions after hearing that the Land Use Review Board and the Public Utility Commission may play different roles in decommissioning and financial assurance.

Legislative counsel Maria Bridal told the committee she added language to clarify how an excess ‘‘reasonable charge’’ should be calculated, saying it "shall be calculated by kilowatt hour." She and members debated whether the bill intends to price excess use as an energy (kWh) charge or as a demand charge tied to utilities' rolling demand measurements; several members recommended the committee obtain utility input before fixing the language.

Why it matters: committee members said the bill must avoid creating a regulatory gap that could leave utilities, ratepayers or local communities on the hook for stranded costs or site cleanup. Representative Kathleen James urged precision and a plan for where money for decommissioning would be held, telling…