HF 2447 (LSB 6777YH (4) 91)

HOUSE FILE 2447

BY  GOLDING

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to water and energy use for data centers, including reporting and tariff requirements, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  455B.280  Water usage at data centers.
   1.  As used in this section:
   a.  “Data center” means the same as defined in section 476.59.
   b.  “Water usage effectiveness” means a calculation of a data center’s total water input divided by the total water consumption of the data center’s information technology equipment.
   2.  No later than six months after the effective date of this Act, or, for a data center that has been in operation for at least one year as of the effective date of this Act, no later than three months after the effective date of this Act, or within three months of starting operations for a new data center, and quarterly thereafter, the owner or operator of a data center in the state of Iowa shall prepare and submit a water usage report to the department that contains at least the following information:
   a.  Basic information relating to the data center, including all of the following:
   (1)  The name of the data center.
   (2)  The owner or operator of the data center.
   (3)  The address of the data center.
   (4)  The nature or purpose of the data center.
   (5)  The month and year that the data center commenced operation.
   b.  Information related to water usage at the data center, including all of the following:
   (1)  The total water input in gallons including the respective volumes of water input for specific functions of the data center.
   (2)  The source of water for the data center including a municipal water supply, groundwater, or surface water, and whether water from such sources is potable or reclaimed, and water withdrawal permit numbers. 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.
   (3)  Performance calculations and indicators for the data center regarding water use effectiveness.
   3.  Within thirty days of receiving a water usage report from the owner or operator of a data center pursuant to subsection 2, the department shall publish the information on its internet site, and update the information as necessary.
   4.  An owner or operator of a data center that has submitted a water usage report to the department pursuant to subsection 2 shall notify the department of any substantial change in operations or technologies at the data center that would require an update to the information provided in the water usage report at least sixty days prior to implementing the change in operations or technologies at the data center.
    Sec. 2.  Section 476.4, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   3.  The commission shall provide for a classification of service for data centers, as defined in section 476.59. The classification of service must be separate and distinct from classification of service for other commercial or industrial retail electricity consumers and have its own tariff schedule. Any tariff schedule adopted by the commission for data centers must meet all of the following requirements:
   a.  Allocate the costs of servicing data centers in a manner that is equal or proportional to the costs of serving the data centers or directly assign the costs of serving a data center to the data center.
   b.  Mitigate the risk of all of the following:
   (1)  Other classes of retail electricity consumers paying unwarranted costs.
   (2)  Shifting the costs, in an unwarranted manner, of serving a data center to other classes of retail electricity consumers, including costs of an electric company to meet load requirements resulting from the provision of electricity service to a data center.
   c.  In deciding whether to approve a proposed tariff schedule of a data center, the commission shall consider whether the rate, charge, or schedule may do any of the following:
   (1)  Result in or have the potential to result in increased costs or unwarranted risks to other retail electricity consumers.
   (2)  Provide for equitable contributions to grid efficiency, reliability, and resiliency benefits.
   (3)  Meet any other conditions the commission may require in the public interest.
    Sec. 3.  Section 476.4, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4.  A person shall not construct or expand a data center, as defined in section 476.59, until the tariff required under subsection 3 has been filed by the public utility that is responsible for the service territory where the data center is to be constructed or expanded.
    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  476.59  Energy usage at data centers.
   1.  As used in this section:
   a.  “Data center” means a facility for which all of the following apply:
   (1)  The facility’s primary services are the storage, management, and processing of digital data.
   (2)  The facility is used to house computer and network systems, including associated components such as servers, network equipment and appliances, telecommunications, and data storage systems, systems for monitoring and managing infrastructure performance, internet-related equipment and services, data communications connections, environmental controls, fire protection systems, and security systems and services.
   b.  “Energy reuse factor” means a calculation of waste heat reused divided by total energy consumption.
   c.  “Power usage effectiveness” means a calculation of a data center’s total energy consumption divided by the total energy consumption of the data center’s information technology equipment.
   d.  “Waste heat reused” means any heat that is used or reused outside the boundary of a data center and that replaces, partly or entirely, energy needed outside the boundary of the data center.
   2.  No later than six months after the effective date of this Act, or, for a data center that has been in operation for at least one year as of the effective date of this Act, no later than three months after the effective date of this Act, or within three months of starting operations for a new data center, and quarterly thereafter, the owner or operator of a data center in the state of Iowa shall prepare and submit an energy usage report to the commission that contains at least the following information:
   a.  Basic information relating to the data center, including all of the following:
   (1)  The name of the data center.
   (2)  The owner or operator of the data center.
   (3)  The address of the data center.
   (4)  The nature or purpose of the data center.
   (5)  The month and year that the data center commenced operation.
   b.  Information related to energy usage at the data center, including all of the following:
   (1)  The total energy consumption in kilowatt hours during the reporting period, including the use of electricity, fuels, and other energy sources used for cooling.
   (2)  The name of the electric utility serving the data center and a copy of any electric service agreements between the electric utility and the data center.
   (3)  All on-site power supplies, including any primary power on site and emergency backup power supply, and any permit information, including permit numbers, capacity, tier level, fuel type, total permitted emissions for the data center, and any other relevant information.
   (4)  The total energy consumption in kilowatt hours measured as the value of the combined annual energy consumption at every uninterruptible power system.
   c.  Performance calculations for the data center, including the energy reuse factor and power usage effectiveness.
   d.  Sustainability indicators for the data center, including all of the following:
   (1)  The average set point intake 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 twelve-month period.
   (2)  The average waste heat temperature in degrees Fahrenheit, which shall be measured as the temperature of the fluid used to cool any information and communication technology equipment, averaged over a twelve-month period and across every measurement point. Individual waste heat temperature readings shall be measured at the point where heated fluid enters a heat exchanger in the data center’s computer rooms.
   (3)  The amount of waste heat reused in kilowatt hours.
   e.  Any other information deemed necessary by the commission.
   3.  Within thirty days of receiving an energy usage report from the owner or operator of a data center pursuant to subsection 2, the commission shall publish the nonprivileged information on its internet site and update the information as necessary.
   4.  An owner or operator of a data center that has submitted an energy usage report to the commission pursuant to subsection 2 shall notify the commission of any substantial change in operations or technologies at the data center that would require an update to the information provided in the energy usage report at least sixty days prior to implementing the change in operations or technologies at the data center.
    Sec. 5.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to water and energy use for data centers, including reporting and tariff requirements.
   The bill requires owners or operators of data centers located in Iowa to submit periodic water usage reports to the department of natural resources (department). The bill requires data center owners or operators to submit an initial water usage report within six months after the effective date of the bill if the data center has been in operation for less than one year, within three months of the effective date of the bill if the data center has been in operation for at least one year, or within three months of starting operations for a new data center, and submit updated reports quarterly thereafter. The reports must include identifying information about the data center and certain information regarding water inputs, water sources, and water usage effectiveness. The bill requires the department to publish the reported information on its internet site within 30 days of receipt. The bill also requires a data center to notify the department at least 60 days before implementing any substantial change in operations or technologies that would require updating the reported information.
   The bill requires the Iowa utilities commission (commission) to establish a separate classification of electric service for data centers that is distinct from other commercial or industrial customers and that has its own tariff schedule. The bill specifies that tariffs for data centers must allocate or directly assign costs in proportion to the costs of serving data centers and must mitigate the risk of other customer classes paying unwarranted costs and the risk of shifting, in an unwarranted manner, the costs of serving a data center to other customer classes.
   The bill requires the commission, when deciding whether to approve a proposed tariff for a data center, to consider whether the proposal may result in or have the potential to result in increased costs or unwarranted risks to other retail consumers, whether the proposal provides for equitable contributions to grid efficiency, reliability, and resiliency benefits, and whether the proposal meets any other conditions the commission may require in the public interest.
   The bill prohibits the construction or expansion of a data center until the required data center tariff has been filed by the public utility responsible for the applicable service territory.
   The bill requires owners or operators of data centers located in Iowa to submit periodic energy usage reports to the commission. Data center owners or operators are required to submit energy usage reports to the utilities commission on the same timeline as the water usage reports. The reports must include identifying information about the data center and certain information regarding energy consumption, electric service agreements, and on-site power supplies. The report must also include certain performance metrics and sustainability indicators. The bill provides similar publication requirements for the commission and similar notification of substantial change requirements for data centers regarding energy usage reports as required for water usage reports.
   The bill strikes provisions relating to rate, charge, rule, and regulation filings made prior to July 4, 1963. The bill takes effect upon enactment.