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A 5466

Requires motorcycles to be registered at point of sale

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Alex Bores and 5 co-sponsors

Require the BPU to study how data-center electricity demand affects New Jersey rates and report findings with policy options, including a possible special tariff.

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Bill Summary · A 5466

Summary — A-5466 (P.L.2025, c.98)

Note: The bill documents provided concern a New Jersey law directing the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to study the impacts of data center electricity use on New Jersey electricity costs. (The header title "Requires motorcycles to be registered at point of sale" appears to be an error and is not reflected in the bill text.)

Main purpose

Require the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to study how electricity usage by data centers (in the PJM region) affects electricity costs for New Jersey customers and to report findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature.

Key provisions

  • Definitions

    • "Board" = Board of Public Utilities (BPU).
    • "Data center" = facility in the PJM region whose primary services are storage, management, and processing of digital data and that houses servers, network equipment, telecommunications, environmental controls, etc.
    • "PJM" = PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.

  • Required study (to be completed no later than 1 year after the law’s effective date):

    1. Determine whether current cost allocations among customer classes cause non-data-center customers to unreasonably subsidize data centers.
    2. Determine whether New Jersey ratepayers incur unreasonable rate increases to support new transmission, distribution, or generation facilities needed solely or primarily to serve data centers.
    3. Estimate the current portion of the average residential electricity rate in New Jersey attributable to demand imposed by data centers.
    4. Estimate the portion of the average residential electricity rate attributable to data-center demand over the next 20 years, using a range of likely scenarios for the number of data centers.
    5. Assess policy alternatives (including a special tariff for data centers) to mitigate or avoid rate increases in New Jersey caused by increased data center electricity demand.

  • Reporting and timing

    • BPU must submit a report presenting study findings to the Governor and Legislature no later than 15 months after the law’s effective date.
    • The law takes effect immediately upon enactment and automatically expires 30 days after the BPU submits the required report.

Who is affected

  • Board of Public Utilities — must conduct and report the study.
  • Electric public utilities and their regulators — subject of the study and potential future policy changes.
  • New Jersey ratepayers (especially residential customers) — the study assesses potential effects on their electricity rates.
  • Data center operators and prospective developers in the PJM region — their electricity demand is the focus and they could be affected by any recommended tariffs or policy changes.
  • State policymakers — will receive the BPU report to inform legislative or regulatory action.

Potential impact

  • Immediate: No direct change to rates or tariffs — the measure mandates only a study and reporting.
  • Medium/long term: Depending on BPU findings and recommendations, possible outcomes could include revised cost-allocation methods, special tariffs for data centers, new regulatory requirements for siting or interconnection, or legislative action to protect ratepayers from cost impacts of data center growth.

Legislative status and sponsors

  • Approved: P.L.2025, c.98 (enacted July 8, 2025).
  • Committee action: Reported by Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee with amendments (May 5, 2025).
  • Passage: Passed Assembly (May 22, 2025 — 75-2-0) and Senate (June 2, 2025 — 38-0).
  • Primary sponsors (version reprint ATU 5/5/25): Assemblyman David Bailey, Jr.; Assemblyman Roy Freiman; Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson; Senators John J. Burzichelli and Linda R. Greenstein. Co-sponsors listed in the reprint.

This Act is limited in scope to an evidence-gathering and policy-assessment function; any regulatory or statutory changes to rates or tariffs would require subsequent action.

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

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