Facilities that use or are able to use at least 20 megawatts and primarily provide covered data-processing or data-infrastructure services are placed in a special regulatory category. The definition covers services such as cloud storage, application hosting, and data entry.

The Public Utilities Commission must establish a separate service classification, tariff, and rate schedule for qualifying large energy use facilities rather than allowing them to use ordinary commercial or industrial rates.

The tariff must allocate or directly assign to qualifying facilities the costs of transmission, distribution, energy, capacity, ancillary services, and related risks, while preventing those costs from being shifted to other customer classes.

Before approving the tariff or rates, the commission must consider whether they could increase costs or risks for other customers, affect grid efficiency, reliability, or resiliency, interfere with Rhode Island’s clean-energy and emissions policies, or require generation contracts that support those policies.

An electric company providing service to a qualifying facility must enter into a contract covering the facility’s electricity service, including applicable transmission, distribution, energy, capacity, and ancillary services.

The required service contract must last at least 10 years, specify the service start date or estimated start date, and require the facility to pay a commission-determined minimum amount or percentage based on projected electricity use for the contract term.

The contract may impose an additional charge for electricity demand exceeding the contracted level.

Any direct-access arrangement, green-power rate, voluntary renewable-energy rate, or special contract used by a qualifying facility must still comply with the bill’s tariff and contract requirements.

Requires the Public Utilities Commission to create a separate service classification, tariff, and rate schedule for large energy use facilities, allowing data centers to receive electricity service under a dedicated framework rather than a general commercial or industrial classification. The facility must use or be capable of using at least 20 megawatts and primarily provide qualifying data-processing or infrastructure services.

Requires an electric company serving a qualifying large energy use facility to enter into a contract covering applicable transmission, distribution, energy, capacity, and ancillary electricity services. The contract must specify the service duration and start date, and must last at least 10 years.

Allows a qualifying large energy use facility to continue using direct access, a green power rate, a voluntary renewable energy rate, or a commission-approved special contract, provided the arrangement complies with the bill's requirements.

Allows the electricity-service contract for a qualifying large energy use facility to address delays in the utility's service commencement when the delay is within the parties' reasonable control, including by establishing applicable terms and conditions.

Facilities that use or can use at least 20 megawatts and primarily provide covered data-processing or data-infrastructure services are subject to a separate electricity-service classification with its own tariff and rate schedule (facility definition and 20-megawatt threshold) (separate classification and tariff).

The special tariff must allocate or directly assign the costs of serving these facilities to them and must mitigate the risk that other customer classes pay costs associated with their electricity demand, creating a potential additional cost obligation for covered facilities (allocate the costs of serving the class) (mitigate the risk of shifting costs).

When approving the tariff or rate schedule, the Public Utilities Commission must consider whether it could increase costs or risks for other customers, affect grid efficiency and reliability, or impede clean-energy and greenhouse-gas-reduction goals; these criteria can constrain approval of the facility’s proposed electricity service (factors the commission shall consider).

An electric company must require a covered facility to enter into a service contract covering applicable transmission, distribution, energy, capacity, and ancillary services before providing electricity service (required electricity-service contract).

The required contract must last at least 10 years, specify when service will begin, and require the facility to pay a minimum amount or percentage based on projected electricity use; it may also impose an additional excess-demand charge (ten-year minimum and payment obligation) (excess-demand charge).

Using direct access, a green-power rate, or a voluntary renewable-energy rate does not exempt a covered facility from the bill’s contract requirements; any such arrangement must still comply with the new section (alternative electricity arrangements must comply).

Requires the Public Utilities Commission to create a separate electricity-service classification, tariff, and rate schedule for large energy use facilities. The classification applies to facilities that use or can use at least 20 megawatts and primarily provide covered data-processing or data-infrastructure services.

Allows the tariff to allocate the costs of serving large energy use facilities to that class or directly assign those costs to the individual facility, providing a defined framework for recovering the costs of its electricity service.

Requires the electric company to enter into a service contract with each large energy use facility covering applicable transmission, distribution, energy, capacity, and ancillary services. The contract must last at least ten years, specify when service will begin, and require the facility to pay a minimum amount or percentage based on projected usage; it may also include an excess-demand charge.

Preserves a large energy use facility’s ability to use direct access, a green power rate, a voluntary renewable energy rate, or a commission-approved special contract, provided the arrangement satisfies the measure’s requirements.

Applies the bill’s requirements to data centers with a projected or actual electric demand of at least 50 MW at a single site.

Requires data centers to bear exclusively all costs reasonably attributable to electric generation, transmission, or distribution facilities needed to serve them, including planning, construction, expansion, operation, and maintenance costs.

Requires electric distribution companies to establish dedicated rate classes, tariffs, contracts, or other cost-recovery mechanisms for covered data centers.

Requires the Energy Facility Siting Board to consult with the Public Utilities Commission on ratepayer impacts and electric cost allocation for applications involving electric facilities intended, in whole or in part, to serve a covered data center.

Allows the Energy Facility Siting Board to condition approval of an application for electric facilities serving a covered data center on the applicant obtaining Public Utilities Commission approval of rates, tariffs, contracts, or other mechanisms that comply with the data-center cost-allocation requirements.

Requires each covered data center to submit an annual report to the Department of Environmental Management describing average daily water withdrawal, peak daily water withdrawal, cooling technologies, and water recycling or reuse practices.

Authorizes the Department of Environmental Management director to require a covered data center to submit a water-efficiency, conservation, or recycling plan as a condition of a permit.

Authorizes the Department of Environmental Management director to require financial assurance, in a form acceptable to the department, to ensure site restoration if a covered data center is abandoned or ceases operations.

Requires electric distribution companies to create one or more dedicated rate classes, tariffs, contracts, or other cost-recovery mechanisms for qualifying data centers, providing a specific framework for obtaining electric service. This applies only to facilities with projected or actual demand of at least 50 MW at one site, and the data center must bear the costs reasonably attributable to facilities needed to serve it.

Preserves data centers’ participation in regional transmission organizations and federally regulated wholesale electricity markets, along with their obligations under federal reliability standards, by stating that the measure does not alter those arrangements.

Data centers with a projected or actual electric demand of 50 MW or more at a single site must bear exclusively the costs reasonably attributable to planning, constructing, expanding, operating, or maintaining generation, transmission, or distribution facilities needed to serve them; those costs cannot be recovered from residential or non-data-center commercial customers. (costs ... shall be borne exclusively by that data center)

Electric distribution companies must establish one or more dedicated rate classes, tariffs, contracts, or other cost-recovery mechanisms for data centers covered by the 50-MW threshold. (establish one or more dedicated rate classes)

For an application involving generation, transmission, or distribution facilities intended wholly or partly to serve a covered data center, the Energy Facility Siting Board must consult the Public Utilities Commission about ratepayer impacts and electric cost allocation, and may condition approval on the applicant obtaining PUC approval of compliant rates, tariffs, contracts, or other mechanisms. (may condition approval)

Each covered data center must annually report to the Department of Environmental Management its average and peak daily water withdrawals, cooling technologies, and water-recycling or reuse practices. (shall annually submit)

The Department of Environmental Management director may require a covered data center to submit a water-efficiency, conservation, or recycling plan as a condition of a permit issued under Title 46. (may require a data center)

The Department of Environmental Management director may require financial assurance, in an acceptable form, to ensure site restoration if a covered data center is abandoned or ceases operations. (may require financial assurance)

For a data center with projected or actual demand of at least 50 MW at one site, the Public Utilities Commission must require dedicated rate classes, tariffs, contracts, or other cost-recovery mechanisms to provide electric service. The data center must pay costs reasonably attributable to facilities needed to serve it, while those costs cannot be recovered from residential or non-data-center commercial customers.

The Energy Facility Siting Board is the central licensing and permitting authority for major energy facilities, including facilities intended in whole or in part to serve a qualifying data center. Other agencies generally provide findings and recommendations to the board rather than issuing separate permits, which creates a consolidated state permitting process.