New Jersey — S731/A796 — Data center ratepayer protection and grid-demand requirements
New Jersey · NJ S731/A796 (Data Center Fair Share Act), signed by Governor Sherrill July 7, 2026
New Jersey Governor Sherrill signed S731/A796 — the Data Center Fair Share Act — into law on July 7, 2026. The law requires large data centers (those with 100 megawatts or more of contracted electricity) to pay for the full amount of electricity they contract for, and to reduce or shift energy use during peak grid stress events. The law is designed to prevent large data centers from reserving grid capacity that ordinary ratepayers then subsidize.
Technical detail
New Jersey S731/A796 signed by Governor Sherrill July 7, 2026. Requires large data centers (≥100 MW contracted load) to: (1) commit to paying for the full amount of electricity contracted; (2) implement demand-response and load-shifting measures during peak grid stress events. Designed to prevent socialization of transmission upgrade costs to existing ratepayers. Legislature gave final approval July 1, 2026; governor signed July 7, 2026.
Who is protected: New Jersey electricity ratepayers (prevents subsidization of large data center grid costs)
Who must comply: Data center operators with 100 MW or more of contracted electricity in New Jersey
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Status | Enacted (not yet in effect) |
| Protection strength | Limited protection |
| Enacted | 2026-07-07 |
| Citation | NJ S731/A796 (Data Center Fair Share Act), signed by Governor Sherrill July 7, 2026 |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI |
| Last verified | 2026-07-20 |
| Official source | Bill to Shield Customers from Subsidizing Energy Costs for Data Centers Gets Final Legislative Approval — NJ Assembly Democrats ↗ |
More AI rules in New Jersey
- NJ Forbidding the Algorithmic Inflation of Rent (FAIR) Act · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- NJ Deceptive AI Deepfakes Act · In effect
- New Jersey Data Protection Act · In effect
- NJ Bot Disclosure Act (bots must identify themselves) · In effect
- NJ N.J.A.C. 13:16 (bias law covers AI hiring tools) · In effect
- Guidance on Algorithmic Discrimination and the New Jersey La · In effect
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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