For months, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro promised a plan to blunt fast-rising energy costs in the state by pushing power-hungry AI data centers to pay their own way. Now his office has formally released details on how he intends to turn BYOE—“bring your own energy”—into more than just a slogan.
The question now is whether it can deliver on curbing consumer energy cost increases in a state on the front lines of AI data center development, where average household electricity rates jumped nearly 14 percent in the last year. Another question: whether Shapiro’s efforts will score enough political points in a swing state in which the governorship, state legislature and several competitive congressional districts are up for grabs this fall.
Requiring data centers to bring their own energy sources is a top promise made by political leaders across the country, not just Shapiro. But experts say the specific policy details are crucial.
John Quigley, a former secretary of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and now senior fellow at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, notes that the primary fuel powering the data center development rush so far is natural gas. But with a yearslong queue for back orders of new gas turbines and more of the gas itself being liquefied and shipped overseas, he questions whether it’s even feasible as a short-term solution to require data centers to generate new electricity.
