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SB79 • 2026

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning utilities.

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning utilities.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Senator J.D. Ford
Last action
2026-01-06
Official status
Introduced Senate Bill (S)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms or penalties for non-compliance with the reporting requirements or permit disclosures.

Indiana Data Center Electricity Rules

This bill requires Indiana's utility commission to create rules for estimating future electricity needs of data centers, mandates quarterly reporting by data center operators, and necessitates local governments to assess potential impacts before issuing permits.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a working group to estimate the future electricity demands of data centers in Indiana and report findings to the general assembly by October 31, 2026.
  • Requires data center operators to submit quarterly reports on their electricity usage to the utility commission.
  • Makes the utility commission publish summaries of these reports online.
  • Needs counties, cities, and townships to require data center developers to disclose projected power and water usage before issuing permits.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
  • Data center operators in Indiana
  • Local governments issuing construction permits

Terms To Know

Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (commission)
A government agency that oversees utilities like electricity and water companies.
Working group
A team of people brought together to work on a specific task or project.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if data center operators do not follow the reporting rules.
  • It is unclear how local governments will enforce these new requirements for permits.
  • There are no penalties mentioned for failing to disclose power and water usage projections.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-06 Senate

    Senator Deery added as second author

  2. 2025-12-08 Senate

    Authored by Senator Ford J.D.

  3. 2025-12-08 Senate

    First reading: referred to Committee on Utilities

Official Summary Text

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning utilities.
Data center development.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning utilities.

Data center development.

Requires the Indiana utility regulatory commission (commission) to establish a working group to: (1) determine an estimate of the future electricity demands of the data center industry in Indiana; and (2) report to the general assembly regarding the working group's findings and recommendations not later than October 31, 2026. Requires: (1) a person that operates a data center in Indiana to submit to the commission a quarterly report of the amount of electricity used by the data center in the immediately preceding quarter; and (2) the commission to publish a summary of the reported information on the commission's website. Provides that a county, municipality, or township shall, before issuing a permit to a person for construction of a data center: (1) require the person to disclose the projected power and water usage of the facility; and (2) perform a site assessment to determine the possible effects of the data center.