The Illinois House Majority Leader promises that the General Assembly will soon pass legislation to place restrictions on data centers.
State Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, joined environmental activists at a press conference in downtown Chicago on Monday.
Gabel cited a poll indicating that three out of four Illinoisans support provisions to regulate data centers.
“This spring we are going to prove once again that Illinois leads, and we will pass the very popular POWER Act to regulate data centers in this state,” Gabel said.
House Bill 5513 and Senate Bill 4016 include provisions to prohibit cost shifting, ensure data centers power their own operations and provide clean energy incentives.
Kari Ross of the Natural Resources Defense Council said her organization worked with Global Strategy Group to survey 800 likely Illinois voters.
Ross said nearly 70% of respondents support legislation to make data centers pay their fair share for increased demand on the grid.
“It protects your wallet from unnecessary rate hikes by ensuring that the companies creating this demand are the ones paying for grid infrastructure, like new power lines and energy costs, not you,” Ross said.
Lori McKiernan of the Sangamon County Sierra Club said the bills are a response to what she hears from people around the state.
“The legislation requires data centers to transparently engage local communities and contribute to intervenor compensation funds,” McKiernan said.
McKiernan said the bills prevent data centers from signing nondisclosure agreements with local governments.
Data Center Coalition Director of State Policy Brad Tietz said the legislation should take into account things that are already happening.
“ComEd has put forth a large load tariff before the Illinois Commerce Commission to help make sure that data centers are paying their full cost of service,” Tietz told The Center Square.
Tietz said the data center industry is 100% committed to ensuring the full cost of its service. He expressed concern that Illinois was in the top five for data center development from 2019 to 2024 and is now declining.
SB 4016 has a committee deadline of April 24.
***Courtesy of the Illinois Radio Network***
