HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives voted 202-1 Monday to prohibit data centers from obtaining public utility status, advancing legislation intended to prevent private developers from gaining eminent domain authority and circumventing local zoning restrictions as data center development expands across the state.
House Bill 2674, sponsored by state Rep. Chris Pielli, a Chester County Democrat, now moves to the state Senate for consideration.
The measure targets the legal powers associated with public utility designation, which Pielli argues could allow data center developers to override municipal land-use decisions and acquire property rights for privately operated facilities.
Under the legislation, data centers would be barred from obtaining public utility status, limiting their ability to claim powers traditionally associated with regulated utility providers.
Pielli said such a designation could allow developers to invoke eminent domain, acquire rights-of-way and obtain property needed to construct, maintain or expand infrastructure serving their projects.
The legislation also seeks to prevent data center operators from using public utility classification to establish regulated monopolies or bypass local zoning ordinances.
The restrictions would address concerns about whether private, for-profit data center projects should qualify for powers intended to support public utility services.
“If data centers gain public utility status, they will essentially become digital dictators that could preempt local municipal zoning ordinances and reduce communities’ control over land-use decisions,” Pielli said.
The proposal comes as Pennsylvania faces increasing interest in data center development and questions about the facilities’ electricity requirements.
Pielli cited estimates of as many as 130 active data centers in Pennsylvania, with another 55 proposed, planned or under construction.
He also asserted that Pennsylvania energy costs have increased by more than 70% since 2020, linking the broader concern over rising electricity expenses to the expansion of data center infrastructure.
The figures were presented by Pielli in support of the legislation and do not, by themselves, establish how much of the reported increase in energy costs is attributable to data centers.
The bill’s central provision addresses public utility designation rather than directly regulating electricity consumption, utility rates or the construction of data centers.
Its immediate significance lies in the potential limits it would place on developers seeking legal authority to acquire land or challenge municipal restrictions.
For Chester County and other Pennsylvania communities considering data center proposals, the legislation would establish a statewide restriction on one potential route for developers to obtain powers beyond those available through ordinary local land-use approvals.
The House’s nearly unanimous vote gives the measure bipartisan support as it enters the Senate, where further legislative approval would be required before it could become law.
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