HARRISBURG, PA — A Pennsylvania House committee unanimously advanced legislation Tuesday that would bar data centers from obtaining public utility status, a move aimed at preserving municipal control over zoning as data center development expands across the state.
House Bill 2674, sponsored by state Rep. Chris Pielli, D-Chester, was approved by the House Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee and now heads to the full House for consideration.
The legislation would prevent data centers from securing public utility status, which Pielli argues could give developers powers that extend beyond those available through ordinary private development.
Pielli said utility status could allow data center developers to preempt local zoning ordinances, invoke eminent domain, operate as regulated monopolies and acquire property, rights-of-way and other development rights for infrastructure serving their projects.
“If data centers become a public utility, they could preempt local municipal zoning ordinances and reduce communities’ control over land-use decisions,” Pielli said. “We need to place guardrails on this issue and ensure that Pennsylvanians have a voice in where these data centers are developed.”
The proposal comes amid broader legislative efforts in Harrisburg to define how municipalities can respond to data center development. The House earlier this year passed separate legislation that would allow municipalities to temporarily pause consideration of data center applications while updating related land-use ordinances.
Pielli also linked the legislation to pressure on Pennsylvania’s energy system, saying electricity costs have increased by more than 70% since 2020 and citing estimates of as many as 130 active data centers and another 55 proposed, planned or under construction.
House Bill 2674 must win approval from the full House before it could advance to the Senate.
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