Energy Environment It's lights out for WA Legislature's effort to regulate data centers
Big technology companies scored a win in Olympia on Monday, as a sweeping bill to regulate data centers lapsed in the Washington state Legislature.
House Bill 2515 would have required data centers to pay additional utility charges, comply with clean energy requirements, and shut off power at times of peak demand on the grid.
Data centers are the computing backbone for much of the internet-connected technology people rely on. But they are on track to be the largest electricity users in the Pacific Northwest. The idea with the bill was to get protections in place for other utility customers, the power grid and the environment as the facilities rapidly expand.
Tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon were at the center of the battle over the bill.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/03/02/its-lights-out-for-wa-legislatures-effort-to-regulate-data-centers/