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A 5548

Relates to service retirement benefits for uniformed correction members of the New York city employees' retirement system

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Stacey Pheffer Amato

NJ data centers must file quarterly reports on water and energy use to the BPU, boosting transparency and guiding efficiency and policy.

REFERRED TO GOVERNMENTAL EMPLOYEES
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Bill Summary · A 5548

Note: the bill metadata provided in your request includes a mismatched title about New York City retirement benefits. This summary is based on the bill text and reprint (ABU 6/26/25) you supplied, which concerns water and energy usage reporting by data centers in New Jersey (A-5548).

Summary — A-5548 (reprint ABU 6/26/25; substituted by S4293 2R)

Purpose

Require New Jersey data center owners/operators to prepare and submit regular water and energy usage reports to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to increase transparency about energy, water use, and sustainability performance (including waste heat reuse and renewable energy use).

Key definitions (selected)

  • Data center: facility whose primary services are storage/management/processing of digital data and that houses servers, network equipment, environmental controls, etc.
  • Energy reuse factor: waste heat reused ÷ total energy consumption.
  • Power usage effectiveness (PUE): total data center energy consumption ÷ energy consumed by information technology (IT) equipment.
  • Renewable energy factor: renewable energy consumed ÷ total energy consumption.
  • Water usage effectiveness (WUE): total water input ÷ energy consumption of IT equipment.
  • Waste heat reused: heat used outside the data center boundary that replaces energy needs outside the boundary.

Required report content (minimum)

Each water and energy usage report must include:
1. Basic facility info: name, owner/operator, address, purpose, month/year operations began.
2. Energy and water usage: total energy consumption (kWh) including fuels and cooling; electric utility and service agreements; on-site power supplies and permitting details; total IT equipment energy consumption (kWh); total water input (cubic meters); water source(s) and percentage split (municipal, groundwater, reclaimed, etc.).
3. Performance metrics: energy reuse factor, PUE, renewable energy factor, WUE.
4. Sustainability indicators: average IT intake air set-point (°F) over 12 months; average waste heat temperature (°F) of cooling fluid; kWh from renewable electricity; kWh of waste heat reused.
5. Any other information the BPU deems necessary.

Reporting schedule, publication, and updates

  • Initial filing: data centers in operation ≥1 year — within 3 months after the act’s effective date; all other data centers — within 6 months.
  • Ongoing filings: quarterly thereafter (committee amendment changed original annual requirement to quarterly).
  • BPU must publish received reports on its website within 30 days and update as needed.
  • Owners/operators must notify BPU at least 60 days before implementing any substantial operational or technological change that would alter the submitted information.
  • BPU is directed to consult and coordinate with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for implementation.

Effective date and fiscal note

  • The act takes effect immediately upon enactment.
  • Bill not certified as requiring a fiscal note.

Who is affected

  • Primary: owners/operators of all New Jersey data centers.
  • Secondary: BPU and DEP (administration, publication, coordination), electric utilities, water suppliers, and entities interested in state-level energy/water policy and oversight.

Potential impacts

  • Increased public transparency on data center energy/water performance, renewable use, and waste heat reuse.
  • Administrative and compliance burden for owners/operators — more frequent (quarterly) data collection and reporting.
  • Provides BPU/DEP data to inform policy, planning, and environmental oversight; may encourage efficiency, renewable procurement, and beneficial reuse of waste heat.
  • Possible concerns about confidentiality or security of published facility-level technical details (not addressed in the text).

Legislative status and related bills

  • Introduced: 2025-04-10 (Assembly).
  • Reported out of Assembly Committee with amendments: 2025-06-26.
  • Substituted by S4293 (2R): 2025-06-30.
  • Sponsor: Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato (primary).
  • Related/companion: S-4293, S-4706; A-5929 (prior session).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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