The bipartisan vote was 134 to 68-- Republicans were no votes.
Requirements for GRID certification would include protecting energy affordability, promoting transparency, engaging local communities, supporting workforce development, and strengthening environmental protection.
“I’ve heard directly from Pennsylvanians who are concerned about what data center development could mean for their communities, and I share those concerns. My GRID Standards establish strong, enforceable requirements for any project seeking Commonwealth support — requiring developers to bring their own power, engage with local communities transparently, support Pennsylvania workers, and protect our environment — and I’m glad the full House voted in bipartisan manner to codify these standards into law,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “It is now time for the state Senate to step up and pass this legislation to protect our communities.”
Click Here for House Fiscal Note & Summary.
The bill now goes to the Senate for action.
A similar bill-- House Bill 2359 (Ciresi-D-Montgomery)-- is still on the House Calendar. The bill adds GRID-like conditions on receiving the state sales tax exemption and prohibited those getting the exemption from signing nondisclosure agreements.
Click Here for the Governor's announcement.
Reaction
Robert Routh, Pennsylvania Policy Director, Climate & Energy, Natural Resources Defense Council issued this statement--
“House Bill 2650 lays out a clear path forward for data center development in Pennsylvania that would better protect consumers, communities, and our electric grid.
“The bill ensures that any data center operator that wants to receive certain tax benefits from the Commonwealth must commit to fully paying for their energy needs by bringing all new capacity – with a preference for clean firm energy resources – and paying for all associated grid infrastructure upgrades, while also being built ‘solar ready.’
“Taken together with House Bill 1834, which significantly raises the floor for data centers in Pennsylvania, House Bill 2650 would raise the ceiling and incentivize investments that will best serve Pennsylvania’s economic, consumer, and environmental interests. Now, with budget negotiations in full swing, the Senate must follow suit and deliver both bills to the Governor’s desk.”
Clean Power PA Chair Katie Blume made the following statement-- "Clean Power PA applauds the House for passing HB 2650, the governor’s GRID standards, on a strong bipartisan basis. Protecting Pennsylvania families from the costs of unchecked data center growth isn’t a partisan issue – it’s common sense.
“As Governor Shapiro has said, the GRID Standards build on HB 1834. They’re not either/or; they’re a package. GRID sets enforceable expectations for projects seeking state support, and HB 1834 ensures strong, binding protections apply across the board, so large developers pay their fair share, and ratepayers aren’t stuck with the costs of serving data centers.
“If data center proliferation continues, Pennsylvanians need durable, enforceable rules that outlast any single budget cycle. We echo the Governor’s call: it is now time for the state Senate to step up, pass both HB 2650 and HB 1834 so affordability, accountability, and clean energy are at the center of every data center project, in every community.”
The Better Path Coalition and No False Climate Solutions PA submitted a position statement of opposition to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s GRID Initiative.
Because the House version of the bill to enact it, House Bill 2650, received a vote today, the letter that has been signed by 29 organizations and 150 individuals since it started circulating this morning will be resubmitted as more signatures are received.
The statement opens, “The undersigned organizations and individuals are writing to express our opposition to Governor Shapiro's GRID initiative.
“Although he has presented it as a response to concerns he has heard from the public, it was not developed with community input, contrary to what he stated at the Budget Address, nor is it a sincere attempt to address our concerns.
“Rather, it is an attempt to quell the public outcry over data center development implying that it cannot be stopped, but can be made less terrible. The public sees through his attempt to manufacture consent.”
The Governor’s voluntary initiative was the subject of much criticism at the PA Is NOT for Sale rally in Harrisburg yesterday that drew hundreds of Pennsylvanians fighting data center development across the state. [Read more here.]
The statement continues, “The Shapiro administration and the legislators who have signed on to attempt to enact his GRID initiative are doing a disservice to the people they were elected to represent.
“None of those elected officials can honestly say that they have the first idea of what the true environmental, health, and safety impacts of data centers would be. They cannot know because they have not taken even a moment or spent a dollar to study them.”
Related Articles This Week:
-- Hundreds Of Residents From Communities Across PA Dealing With A.I. Data Center Development Rally At State Capitol To Support Bipartisan Legislation To Enact A 3-Year A.I. Data Center Moratorium [PaEN]
-- PA House Passed 20 A.I. Data Center Bills, Many By Lopsided Bipartisan Votes; PA Senate Acts On Tax Changes [PaEN]
-- PA House Passes Bill Giving Individual Municipalities Authority To Pause Consideration Of A.I. Data Center Proposals For 6 Months [PaEN]
-- PA House Nearly Unanimously Passes Bill To Repeal State Data Center Computer Equipment Sales Tax Exemption [PaEN]
-- PA House Passes Bill Limiting State Data Center Sales Tax Exemption To Those Developers Following Gov. Shapiro's Responsible Infrastructure Development Standards [PaEN]
-- PJM Interconnection Holds Next Generation Capacity Auction June 30, Results To Be Announced July 14 [PaEN]
-- PJM Adds New Emergency Procedures To Deal With Strained Grid: A Capacity Advisory; Directive For Data Centers To Use Backup Generators [PaEN]
-- PJM Interconnection Issues Hot Weather Alert For June 29 In Western Region, June 30 to July 3 For Entire Service Area; 5th Alert This Season [PaEN]
-- Lt. Gov. Davis Brings Together Utility Industry Experts To Highlight Solutions To Rising Energy Costs
-- Senate Democratic Policy Committee Holds Hearing On Solutions To Lower Consumer Electric Bills
NewsClips:
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Environmental Groups Push PA Lawmakers To Pass HB 1834 To Protect Ratepayers, Regulate A.I. Data Centers
-- PA Capital-Star: PA House Passes Bill With $1.7 Billion Tax Cut On Electricity, Reins In Public Utility Company Profits [Electric, Natural Gas, Water, Wastewater] By Setting New Rate Formula
-- House Unanimously Passed Bill To Base All Electric, Natural Gas, Water And Wastewater Rates On A Market-Based Return On Equity To Address Increasing Utility Bills [House Bill 2224]
-- The Citizens’ Voice: Project Hazelnut A.I. Data Center Offers $10,000 To Hazle Twp. Households As An Incentive To Approve The Plan [4,505 Households In Twp. - $45 Million]
-- PennLive: Amid Growing Voter Outcry, A.I. Data Centers Have Emerged As An Election Issue For PA Lawmakers
-- Republican Herald: Mount Carmel Area Residents Concerned About Data Centers Launch New Grassroots Group Aimed At Giving Coal Region Communities A Stronger Voice
-- PennLive: Western PA Coal Towns Are Ground Zero For A.I. Data Centers: ‘A Boom Coming’
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: How A.I. Data Centers Lost The PR War And What It Means For Business
-- AP: A.I. Is An Energy And Water Hog, Here’s What You Can Do To Counter That
-- Wall Street Journal: A.I. Data Center Boom Sparking Third Wave Of Inflation - Cost Of Computer Chips - Following Energy, Labor & Constructions Costs
[Posted: June 24, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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