Summary — HB 1579 (North Dakota)
Title: Legislative management study on the impact of large energy consumers on the state's electrical grid; proposed amendments requiring certain data centers to obtain certificates of public convenience and necessity
Status (selected milestones)
- Introduced: December 11, 2024
- Energy & Natural Resources Committee adopted proposed amendments: February 20, 2025 (committee report)
- Filed with Secretary of State: April 28, 2025
- Study to occur during 2025–26 interim; final report due to the 70th Legislative Assembly
Purpose and intent
- Primary: Direct the Legislative Management to study how large energy consumers (explicitly including data centers) affect North Dakota’s electrical grid, regulatory framework, and economic development, and to report findings and recommended legislation to the 70th Legislative Assembly.
- Secondary (per committee amendments): Amend North Dakota Century Code chapter 49‑03.1 to treat certain large data centers as entities required to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Public Service Commission (PSC), with application, fee, hearing, and issuance procedures.
Key provisions — Legislative study
- Scope: Evaluate electrical grid reliability and infrastructure needs (capacity, necessary upgrades, upgrade costs and cost allocation, congestion effects); regulatory consistency across state/local laws and among investor‑owned utilities, cooperatives, municipal providers and independent producers; economic impacts (jobs, tax revenue, long‑term investment tied to data centers and other large consumers); market dynamics (demand‑side management, regional participation, grid‑supportive practices by large users); reporting and regulatory practices for regulated and exempt utilities; and criteria for regulatory exemptions and integration (load size, system integration, backup generation feasibility, generation sources).
- Stakeholder input: Data center operators and prospective investors; investor‑owned utilities, rural electric cooperatives, municipal providers, independent power producers; Public Service Commission; Lignite Energy Council; North Dakota Transmission Authority; regional transmission organizations; Petroleum Council; relevant state/federal agencies.
- Deliverable: Findings, recommendations, and any draft legislation to the 70th Legislative Assembly.
Key provisions — Data center certificate requirements (proposed amendments to NDCC 49‑03.1)
- Certificate requirement: A public utility or a qualifying data center may not begin construction or operation without first obtaining a PSC certificate of public convenience and necessity. Cooperative‑operated data centers are exempt from this certification requirement.
- Definition: “Data center” means a structure that primarily houses electronic equipment to process, store, transit digital information, or conduct data mining, that is owned by an investor‑owned utility and consumes 20 megawatts (MW) or more.
- Application process: Applications filed on PSC forms must include financial statements, service description, map and description of area to be served, and list of other utilities or data centers providing similar service in the area.
- Fees and timeline: PSC may impose an application fee up to $10,000 (with possible additional amount approved by the Emergency Commission). Upon filing, the PSC sets a hearing date no fewer than 20 days after filing; notice by certified mail at least 10 days before the hearing to affected utilities/data centers and other interested parties.
- Prerequisites/authority: Applicants must file corporate documents and demonstrate required municipal/franchise/permit approvals (or pending applications). After notice and hearing, the PSC may issue, refuse, limit, condition, or partially grant certificates. The PSC may waive a hearing and grant a certificate if no interested party requests a hearing after receiving at least 20 days’ notice.
Who would be affected
- Directly affected: Data centers owned by investor‑owned utilities that consume 20 MW or more (subject to the certificate requirement); investor‑owned utilities; the Public Service Commission.
- Indirectly affected: Rural electric cooperatives and municipal power providers (exemptions and regulatory consistency issues flagged in the study); ratepayers (potential cost allocation and grid‑upgrade costs); developers and prospective large energy consumers; regional transmission organizations; state and local permitting authorities.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Grid planning/upgrade costs and allocation may become a focus of policy changes depending on study findings.
- Treating large data centers as entities subject to PSC certification could increase regulatory oversight (project review, notice/hearing, conditions) and potentially influence siting, interconnection, and cost‑allocation decisions.
- Exemption for cooperative‑operated data centers and the narrow definition (ownership by investor‑owned utility and ≥20 MW) limit the immediate scope but leave open policy questions the study is intended to address (including whether the certificate process is appropriate for private‑sector end users).
Next steps / timeline
- Legislative Management will conduct the study during the 2025–26 interim and report recommendations (and proposed legislation, if any) to the 70th Legislative Assembly.
- The PSC rulemaking or statutory changes could follow based on the study’s recommendations and any bills submitted to the Assembly.
Note: Multiple unrelated documents from other states also bear the number “HB 1579” in 2025; this summary covers the North Dakota HB 1579 and the committee amendments adding the data‑center certification provisions alongside the study directive.
