Legislative Hearing Summary
Keystone Business Insider · Delivered Friday, October 23, 2026, 7:30 a.m. ET
Illustrative sample: people, testimony and quotes are fictional
Data center growth and the grid: who pays for new transmission?
CommitteeHouse energy committee (majority and minority members present)
Date and lengthThursday, October 22, 2026 · 9:30 a.m. to 12:25 p.m.
Bill or topicInformational hearing; no bill before the committee
RecordingOfficial video · Written testimony
The bottom line. Every witness agreed data center demand is arriving faster than the grid can be built out. They split sharply on whether the cost of new transmission should fall on data centers alone or be spread across all customers, including manufacturers. The chair said he expects to introduce a bill before the end of the session that would create a separate rate class for very large new loads.
Who testified
Utility vice president for planning
Said the utility has received requests totaling more than 6,000 megawatts from proposed data centers, roughly double its current peak. Supported a separate rate class but asked for flexibility on how costs are assigned.
Regional grid planning official
Described a backlog of projects waiting to connect and warned that new transmission lines typically take five to seven years to build.
Manufacturers’ coalition representative
Urged the committee to make sure “the customers who create the need pay for it,” noting that energy is one of the largest controllable costs for Pennsylvania plants.
Consumer advocate’s office
Supported a separate rate class and asked for protections so residential customers are not left with stranded costs if projects are cancelled.
Data center industry association
Argued that data centers bring tax base and construction jobs and that over-charging them would push projects to other states.
Key questions from members
- The chair asked whether projects that never get built should still owe for transmission upgrades. The utility said deposits and minimum-payment contracts could cover that risk.
- A minority member asked how much of the requested capacity is speculative. The grid official estimated “a significant share” will not be built but declined to give a number.
- Two members from rural districts asked about siting of new lines and eminent domain; witnesses said that is outside this proposal.
Notable quotes
“We are being asked to plan for a second Pennsylvania’s worth of load in a decade.”
Utility vice president for planning (at 0:42:10 in the recording)
“Our members compete on cost every day. They shouldn’t be underwriting someone else’s expansion.”
Manufacturers’ coalition representative (1:15:35)
What happens next
- The chair plans to circulate a co-sponsorship memo “within weeks.”
- A related rate case is pending before the Public Utility Commission; watch for the procedural schedule.
- The Senate counterpart committee has not scheduled a hearing on the issue.
What it means for business
Manufacturers on industrial tariffs have the most at stake in how transmission costs are divided. Large employers considering expansion should expect electric capacity, not just price, to become a siting issue.
Hearing summaries arrive the next morning at 7:30 a.m.