Governor Sherrill Calls On Data Centers to Pay Their Fair Share to Protect Families from Surging Energy Costs

Contact: Seth Nelson

Governor Mikie Sherrill today laid out a key piece of her administration’s energy affordability agenda: a policy framework to address soaring data center power demand, which is straining energy supplies and driving up bills for New Jersey households and businesses.

Sherrill, who achieved a decisive victory last year by championing common-sense plans to lower household energy costs and expand clean energy, called on the legislature to require data centers to pay their fair share and bring their own power to meet their demand. The framework also addresses transparency through energy and water consumption reporting requirements, calls for stronger developer collaboration with communities near data center construction, and demands that developers deliver good jobs with family-sustaining wages. Bills already pending in the New Jersey Legislature would deliver on the governor’s priorities, and today’s announcement gives that legislation powerful momentum.

In response, Evergreen Action Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Eric Miller released the following statement:

“Governor Sherrill is drawing a clear line: data centers are driving a massive surge in electricity demand, and they don’t get to pass that bill onto working families. Requiring data centers to pay their fair share and bring their own power would protect ratepayers from surging costs, and today’s announcement is an important step toward delivering that protection. Governor Sherrill ran and won on lowering energy costs, and today she’s making good on that promise.

“New Jersey has an opportunity to be a national leader and show that cutting costs and pollution go hand in hand. As the legislature takes up this agenda, we strongly urge lawmakers to ensure that the power data centers bring to the grid is cheap, fast-to-build, clean energy that shields families from price volatility and delivers the biggest savings. The bills to turn this agenda into law are already on the table, and skyrocketing energy bills have already reached a crisis point for many New Jersey families. There’s no excuse for delay—lawmakers should act now and give New Jerseyans the relief they voted for.” 

Last November, backed by an independent analysis from Synapse Energy Economics, Evergreen published “New Jersey Households Can Save $467 Per Year On Energy Costs With Key Policy Actions,” detailing the concrete steps state leaders could take to save the average New Jersey household hundreds of dollars per year on their electricity bills, including requiring data centers to bring their own clean, affordable power. With the governor’s agenda now squarely on the table, the legislature has both the momentum and the tools to deliver that relief. The full memo detailing the policy interventions outlined in Synapse’s report can be found here.

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