S 10546

                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
                                   10546
                             I N  S E N A T E
                               May 20, 2026
                                ___________
 Introduced  by Sen. GONZALEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
   cations
 AN ACT in relation to requiring host community benefits
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
   Section 1. Host community benefit. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of
 this act, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
   (a) "Data center" means all facilities, or a  combination  of  facili-
 ties, under common ownership at the same site, that receive service from
 an electric corporation, gas corporation, or municipality, as defined in
 the  public  service law,   or have applied or requested to receive such
 service, and have a peak demand of twenty megawatts or more that is used
 for:
   (i) computing infrastructure, not including manufacturing;
   (ii) data processing services;
   (iii) web hosting services, not including software publishing;
   (iv) streaming support services, not including streaming distribution;
 and
   (v) other related services and functions as defined in rules and regu-
 lations promulgated by the commission.
   (b) "Host community" shall mean any town or city within which  a  data
 center  defined  in  paragraph  (a)  of this subdivision, or any portion
 thereof, has been proposed for development.
   (c) "Eligible residential technologies" means:
   (i) cold-climate heat pumps for space heating and cooling;
   (ii) heat pump water heaters;
   (iii) rooftop solar photovoltaic systems; and/or
   (iv) behind-the-meter battery storage systems.
   (d) "Utility" means an electric distribution utility corporation regu-
 lated pursuant to section 66 of the public service law.
   2. Each new data center, or any  existing  data  center  undergoing  a
 major  expansion that will meet or exceed twenty megawatts of additional
 load, shall, pursuant to subdivision  three  of  this  section,  fund  a
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13988-05-6
 S. 10546                            2
 program  to:  (a)  provide  a discount or credit on the electric utility
 bills of the local utility's residential customers in a host  community;
 or (b) install eligible residential technologies for such customers.
   3.  The  public  service commission shall, within ninety days from the
 effective date of this subdivision, commence a proceeding to establish a
 program under which data center owners  would  be  required  to  fund  a
 program to provide a discount or credit on the electric utility bills of
 the  utility's  customers  in  a  host community, or to install eligible
 residential technologies  for  such  customers.  Such  proceeding  shall
 establish  a process to notify host communities and allow such community
 to indicate whether discounts or credits on utility bills or the instal-
 lation of any eligible residential technologies is their  preferred  use
 of  program  funding. Such proceeding shall further determine the amount
 of such discount, credit, or amount of eligible residential technologies
 to be installed based on all factors deemed appropriate by  the  commis-
 sion,  including the expected average electrical demand of the facility,
 the average number of customers within the data center  host  community,
 and  the expected aggregate annual electric consumption within such host
 community, and shall include prioritization of low- and  moderate-income
 households and disadvantaged communities, as defined in subdivision five
 of  section  75-0101 of the environmental conservation law, and the role
 of utilities, if any, in implementing any aspect of such program.
   § 2. The Long Island Power Authority shall  establish  a  program  for
 data centers within its service territory to achieve the same objectives
 as set forth and described in section one of this act.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it  shall  have  become  a  law;  provided however, subdivision three of
 section one of this act shall take effect immediately.  Effective  imme-
 diately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
 necessary  for  the implementation of this act on its effective date are
 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.