State Senator Dr. Jeff Gordon Calls for a Moratorium and Responsible Oversight of Data Centers

HARTFORD, CT — State Senator Jeff Gordon (R–Woodstock) issued a comprehensive public policy plan to responsibly address concerns about how data centers could affect energy ratepayers, the environment, local municipal planning, public infrastructure, and public safety.

“As the future unfolds with data centers supporting technological innovations and possible economic development investments in Connecticut, we must act now to address the impacts that data centers could have on energy supplies, water use, land requirements, infrastructure needs, and public safety concerns,” said Sen. Gordon. “It also raises a serious question about who ultimately bears the costs of accommodating these facilities. Ratepayers are tapped out as is with the ongoing Affordability Crisis in Connecticut.”

Sen. Gordon has outlined the following comprehensive approach to data center oversight:

• Create a moratorium so that policymakers, stakeholders, and the public can learn more about what is going on and have opportunities to provide information, raise concerns, and ask questions. This can better inform the legislature’s decision-making process.
• Create clear protections for energy ratepayers from data centers’ additional and peak usage demands, such as not allowing increased costs for new infrastructure to be passed on to ratepayers and preventing adverse impacts on energy rates. Data centers could pay a separate rate and/or build their own on-site energy supply.
• Create clear, transparent, and inclusive regulatory review processes to fully evaluate possible environmental impacts on water, air, land, and noise. This includes public notifications and opportunities for participation.
• Support the importance of local decision-making in our communities, especially where a data center might be built and could affect nearby residences and businesses. The Connecticut Siting Council has historically done a limited job of addressing local concerns.
• Do not allow infrastructure needs to be an afterthought. Data centers require significant infrastructure, whether new transmission lines, roads, or other improvements. These can all have local impacts in our towns.
• Address emergency management and public safety needs, especially as data centers may pose unique challenges related to security and fire management.
• Establish appropriate financial guarantees to ensure that state government, municipalities, and ratepayers are not held responsible for unforeseen costs.

“I’m working collaboratively with others to hear further from stakeholders. I have been listening to what my constituents have been saying. And I am leveraging my 15 years of strong experience with land use decision-making as a former Chairman of Woodstock’s Planning & Zoning Commission to guide my work on this issue as a State Senator who serves as the Senate Republican Leader on the legislature’s Planning & Development Committee.”

In 2021, the legislature created a Data Center Tax Incentive Program (Public Act 21-1) to attract data center development in Connecticut. This program, run by the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), allows for sales, use, and property tax exemptions based upon financial investment by data center companies for specified periods of time.

“I was not a State Senator when this tax incentive was passed,” said Sen. Gordon. “But whether one agrees or not with what was done in 2021, we must look at how the landscape has changed over time. It is now that we must put responsible oversight into place before it is too late and ratepayers, homeowners, and our communities are affected.”