Data centers are black boxes, but California wants to change that
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a slate of bills on Monday that could finally give communities better data - and more say - on how data centers impact their electricity bills and water supply. As data centers invade a growing number of communities across the US, they've triggered protests over how the infrastructure underpinning AI might stress power grids and local water systems. That's fueled partly by concerns about how difficult it is to see just how much electricity o
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California's governor has signed legislation requiring data center operators to disclose how much water and electricity they use, starting next year. Data centers have been largely opaque about their resource consumption, making it difficult for communities and scientists to understand their actual environmental and financial impact. The new transparency rules aim to help the public see whether data centers are raising electricity bills, depleting water supplies, and meeting sustainability commitments. Additional legislation directs utilities to create separate power rates for data centers so they bear the costs of new grid infrastructure rather than passing those expenses to other consumers.
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