New Hampshire data center and energy bills

What it would do: Authorizes municipalities to permit data centers in commercial and industrial zoning districts subject to local land use regulations, and allows planning boards to adopt necessary regulations with local legislative body approval.

What it would do: Creates a separate regulatory classification for large-energy-use retail electricity facilities using 20 megawatts or more at peak demand for data processing services, requiring the Public Utilities Commission to establish cost-based tariffs and regulate long-term contracts to prevent cost-shifting to other ratepayers.

What it would do: Prohibits any person, business, or entity from beginning construction of new data centers in New Hampshire for one year from the effective date. Establishes a four-member legislative committee to study the environmental impact of data centers and report findings by November 1, 2026.

What it would do: Requires New Hampshire's state energy strategy to include a report section on electric capacity planning for emerging sectors like housing, transportation, technology, and data centers, with expert consultation every 3 years, and to analyze demand-side measures including efficiency, conservation, demand response, and load management.

What it would do: Requires public utilities to file annual reports with the Public Utilities Commission detailing transmission costs, wholesale electricity market impacts, forward capacity market information, and generation adequacy, including data center capacity needs and recommendations to insulate ratepayers from data center costs. Mandates public hearings every 3 years and agency review within 90 days of filings.

What it would do: Establishes incentives and procedures to attract large-scale data-center campuses to New Hampshire, including phased property-tax stabilization agreements, transferable business tax credits up to 20 percent of construction costs, and requirements for grid modernization agreements with non-gas energy procurement and workforce development partnerships.