Pennsylvania's Data Center Cost Allocation Package Could Save Families Billions

Overview

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Greenline finds that the full package could reduce Pennsylvania household energy costs by $9.9 billion from 2027 through 2040, equivalent to $1,820 for the average Pennsylvania household.

	Statewide Household Savings	Average Household Savings
Energy Cost Allocation	$5.5B in savings statewide	$1,010 per household
Capacity Cost Allocation	$2.6B in savings statewide	$479 per household
Data Center Fee for LIHEAP	$1.8B in savings statewide	$330 per household
Total	$9.9B in savings statewide	$1,820 per household

Implementing Strong Data Center Proposals Could Deliver Major Savings for Pennsylvanians

Pennsylvania has already begun addressing how the costs of growing data center demand are allocated, through both executive action and proposed legislation.

Executive Order 2026-05 directs the state’s Special Counsel for Energy Affordability to advocate before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for protections that would prevent certain costs caused by data centers from shifting to other customers, and HB 1834 would build on that approach in statute, establishing broader protections against cost shifting while requiring large data centers to contribute to low-income energy assistance.

Together, the policies work toward the same goal: protecting Pennsylvania families and businesses from costs driven by data center growth. Greenline models the executive order and HB 1834 together as a “Data Center Cost Allocation Package”.

The 2026 gubernatorial and state legislative elections will shape Pennsylvania’s approach to data center affordability in 2027, including implementation of these protections and whether broad safeguards are enacted into law.

Protecting Customers From the Costs of New Electricity Demand

Pennsylvania’s data center pipeline is among the largest in the country. Greenline’s modeled scenario assumes approximately 6,637 MW of continuous data center load by 2040, increasing Pennsylvania’s electricity generation costs by approximately $1.9 billion in 2040 alone.

The modeled policy package changes who bears those costs. Rather than allowing costs caused by new data center demand to flow to other customers, the policies assign those costs to the data centers driving them.

Greenline finds that this cost allocation accounts for $8.1 billion in cumulative household savings through 2040, or $1,489 for the average Pennsylvania household.

Where the $8.1B Savings Come From

$5.5B – Energy Cost Allocation

The energy cost allocation savings come from ensuring the fuel and operating costs of generating electricity for new data center demand are paid by data centers, rather than other customers. This is addressed by HB 1834.

$2.6B – Capacity Cost Allocation

As data centers increase electricity demand, additional generation capacity may be needed to ensure enough power is available when demand is highest. These savings come from assigning the costs of that additional capacity to the data centers driving the demand, rather than other customers. HB 1834 addresses these costs, while Executive Order 2026-05 directs advocacy for PUC tariffs that would assign certain capacity costs to large data centers.

Greenline’s estimates are conservative. The analysis includes generation costs but not transmission or distribution costs, meaning total savings could be even greater.

Strengthening Energy Assistance for Low-Income Families

HB 1834 would also establish an annual $40,000-per-megawatt fee on large data centers, with the revenue directed toward supplemental energy assistance through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), including summer cooling assistance. At the level of data center growth modeled by Greenline, the fee revenue would reach approximately $265 million in 2040 and provide $1.8 billion in additional household assistance from 2027 through 2040.

Benefits for Pennsylvania Businesses

Pennsylvania businesses would also benefit from lower electricity costs. Greenline estimates $12.5 billion in avoided costs for Pennsylvania businesses from 2027 to 2040.

Those savings also contribute to the benefit of households, too: when businesses pay less for electricity, some of those savings can flow through to consumers through lower prices for goods and services. Greenline estimates these indirect savings account for about one-third of the total $9.9 billion household benefit, with the remaining two-thirds reaching households directly.

Because these indirect benefits are already reflected in Greenline’s household savings estimate, the $12.5 billion in business savings should not be added to the $9.9 billion in household benefits.

The bottom line: Pennsylvania’s policy landscape has already begun to change. Executive Order 2026-05 and HB 1834 use different authorities, but work toward the same cost-allocation approach. Under the modeled package, the scale of household impact is significant: $9.9 billion in cumulative energy savings, or $1,820 for the average Pennsylvania household through 2040. The 2026 gubernatorial and state legislative elections will help shape what happens next, including whether state leaders build on these efforts in 2027 and put key affordability protections into law.

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Source: Greenline Insights analysis commissioned by Evergreen Action. Greenline modeled household energy-cost impacts from 2027–2040. The modeled scenario reflects provisions of HB 1834, as passed by the Pennsylvania House, and Executive Order 2026-05. Executive Order impacts depend on subsequent PUC action. Results reflect modeled impacts if enacted relative to Greenline’s business-as-usual scenario.