California tightens rules on AI data center energy and water use

加州收紧人工智能数据中心能源与用水监管规定

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed seven bills designed to prevent AI data centers from passing utility costs onto residents, as reported earlier by the Los Angeles Times. The package of laws requires the California Public Utilities Commission to introduce a new rate classification for data centers while forcing them to pay for upgrades to local power grids and water systems.

据《洛杉矶时报》早前报道，加州州长加文·纽森（Gavin Newsom）已签署七项法案，旨在防止人工智能（AI）数据中心将公用事业成本转嫁给居民。这套法案要求加州公用事业委员会为数据中心引入新的费率分类，并强制要求其承担当地电网和供水系统的升级费用。

Other bills included in the package will require proposed data centers to disclose their estimated water use to local governments, along with information about energy efficiency and drought planning. They must also meet certain energy, water, and fuel consumption requirements before qualifying for a streamlined approval process. Last week, Newsom signed an executive order to speed up the creation of an AI “kill switch.”

该法案包中的其他条款要求拟建的数据中心向当地政府披露其预计用水量，以及有关能源效率和抗旱规划的信息。此外，这些数据中心必须满足特定的能源、水资源和燃料消耗要求，才有资格获得简化的审批流程。上周，纽森还签署了一项行政命令，以加速推进人工智能“终止开关”（kill switch）的建立。

“While the Trump administration moves toward deregulation, communities are left to deal with the consequences — higher electricity demand, grid constraints, water use, and pollution,” Newsom says in the press release. “With these laws, we are ensuring that Californians remain in the driver’s seat — and that those profiting from data centers aren’t doing so at our expense.”

纽森在新闻稿中表示：“在特朗普政府倾向于放松监管的同时，社区却不得不独自承担后果——包括更高的电力需求、电网压力、水资源消耗和污染问题。通过这些法律，我们确保加州人民始终掌握主动权，并确保那些从数据中心获利的人不会以牺牲我们的利益为代价。”