Senate committee revises data-center large-load bill; drops prescriptive curtailment language, debates payment vs. on-site generation

The Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee on Thursday reviewed a revised strike-all draft of H727, a bill that would tighten state oversight of large data-center service contracts by adding cumulative facility definitions, site-suitability and design requirements, virtual-power-plant participation and new reporting rules.

Legislative Council attorney Maria Royal told the committee the new draft (identified in the hearing as draft 184) incorporates committee recommendations and chair-proposed changes, including a broadened definition of “facility” to capture multiple non-adjacent sites that “function as a single integrated operation” through shared infrastructure or unified operational protocols. Royal also walked members through added site-suitability analysis and requirements intended to maximize renewable hosting at new data-center developments.

The most contested provision addressed whether a data center could be designated in its contract as a primary curtailment load during grid emergencies. A representative from VELCO warned the committee that “having any kind of language that says we need to … curtail or load shed one customer over another … would be considered discriminatory” and could conflict with federally governed transmission rules and ISO New England procedures. The VELCO representative offered alternative draft…