The BlueGreen Alliance applauds Gov. Gavin Newsom for signing SB 886 (Padilla) and AB 2383 (Zbur), two measures supported by the BlueGreen Alliance’s (BGA) California coalition of labor and environmental partners. These bills establish new ratepayer and environmental protections as California’s electricity demand from data centers grows. Thanks to existing labor standards in the state, the growth will also benefit workers and economic development. 

Together, SB 886 and AB 2383 establish a new electricity rate framework for large data centers, requiring covered facilities to pay upfront for the costs associated with the additional generation, transmission, distribution, and grid infrastructure needed to serve those facilities. This ensures that those costs are not shifted onto other California ratepayers. The legislation creates dedicated tariffs specifically for qualifying data centers and establishes long-term requirements designed to ensure these major energy users are responsible for the infrastructure costs associated with their electricity demand. 

Additionally, the bills include requirements to ensure that the energy used to power data centers meets existing state clean energy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.   

Following the bill’s signing, BGA released the following statement from Senior California State Policy Organizer Franki Gracey: 

“BGA was proud to support SB 886 and AB 2383 to help ensure developers pay their fair share for the additional energy and infrastructure expenses needed to support new data centers. These measures show that California can support innovation and economic growth while protecting workers, communities, and ratepayers.”