Data centers must now disclose water and energy use to the public
H.R. 9825 — Data Center Water and Energy Transparency Act of 2026 · Filed by Lauren Underwood (D-IL) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jul 22, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires data center operators running facilities with at least 25 megawatts of peak demand to report annually to their state (or to federal agencies if the state has no collection program) on their energy use, water consumption, efficiency metrics, and 5-year projections for reducing consumption. States and the federal government will collect, aggregate, and publicly report this data to inform policy and identify environmental impacts, while states may charge fees to operators to cover collection costs and the federal government may fine operators $20,000 per day for negligent violations.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is mandatory disclosure of data center resource consumption to state and federal authorities, with public aggregation and reporting. It is fundamentally a transparency and accountability measure, not a subsidy, deregulation, or carve-out.
What the text implies
- Aggregated public reports may reveal regional water stress and energy grid strain caused by data center clustering, potentially triggering state-level restrictions or siting policies that operators did not anticipate.
- The 5-year projection requirement may expose operators' efficiency roadmaps and capital plans to competitors and regulators, creating competitive intelligence risk for large operators.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who it affects
The bill creates transparency about data center resource consumption—a major but opaque driver of water and energy demand—enabling citizens, regulators, and communities to understand environmental impacts and hold operators accountable. The reporting burden falls on large operators (≥25 MW), not consumers, and public disclosure supports informed policy-making without imposing direct costs on ordinary people.