Advocates and Lawmakers Warn Albany to Protect New Yorkers from Looming Data Center Boom

ALBANY, NY (10/23/2025) (readMedia)-- A broad coalition of environmental, consumer, and clean energy advocates, joined by Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, gathered at the State Capitol today to urge Albany to take proactive, common-sense action to protect New Yorkers from the unchecked expansion of data centers across the state. Speaking at a press conference held just before the Assembly Energy Committee's hearing on rising energy costs from large loads like data centers, the coalition called on lawmakers to make tech companies pay their fair share rather than leaving everyday New Yorkers to shoulder the costs of their massive energy consumption.

In its rush to make New York the nation's "No. 1" AI data center hub, the Hochul administration has signaled a willingness to prioritize wealthy corporations over everyday New Yorkers by planning to expand fossil fuel generation to meet speculative data center energy demand. Ample evidence shows that building new fossil fuel infrastructure to power data centers drives up utility rates for ratepayers, while renewable energy paired with storage is far cheaper and far less polluting for host communities.

Without proactive legislative action, everyday New Yorkers will be left to pay not only for the massive energy consumption of data centers, but also for the fossil fuel infrastructure built to power facilities that may never materialize. This all comes as New Yorkers are already paying triple for energy from previous years while utilities that will serve data centers are raking in record profits, and data center proposals are already starting to crop up in the state.

States that previously welcomed and subsidized unchecked data center expansion have since experienced buyers remorse and are now adopting policies to protect ratepayers. The coalition urged lawmakers to learn from these states by holding tech companies accountable for their energy use, rejecting fossil fuel expansion, and protecting working families from rising energy bills.

"New Yorkers are already struggling with skyrocketing utility bills," said Liz Moran, New York policy advocate at Earthjustice. "We cannot afford to pursue an energy unaffordability agenda that prioritizes tech companies' data centers and fossil fuel generation over working families. Albany must act now to prevent AI data center expansion from becoming the next affordability and environmental crisis."

New York State Senator Kristen Gonzalez said, "New Yorkers are already facing an affordability crisis, with rising utility costs and social benefits being slashed. The unregulated development of data centers, their high energy costs, and their generation of fossil fuels are unjust burdens on working class households. As a lifelong climate justice advocate, I'm proud to sponsor two bills that address the energy consumption of data centers, and I'm committed to working with this coalition to move forward legislation to put New Yorkers first."

"23% of adults in this country are not able to pay their utility bills, and this is based on the latest available census data before the explosion in energy demand due to AI data centers, and before the undermining of federal incentives for clean energy. As we heard in today's Assembly hearing over and over again, we're facing unprecedented challenges on grid reliability, energy affordability, and clean energy goals because of the large demand that's coming from AI data centers. The very narrow needs of mega corporations like Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are driving the restructuring of our energy sector while the needs of regular people who pay utility bills have gone largely unaddressed. I am among those calling for a national moratorium on these large scale data centers, and simultaneously for a comprehensive set of tight regulations. There are questions that need to be clearly answered on who's going to pay for the grid updates that are needed to support this demand, what happens if and when these data centers become stranded assets, where the renewable energy is coming for this purpose, and more," said Assemblymember Shrestha.

"The same communities that have lived for decades with asthma, heart disease, and toxic air are now being asked to breathe even more pollution so data centers can stay online 24/7 while utilities are planning billion-dollar projects to power data centers that serve tech giants. The state must put affordability and public health first and make sure corporate energy users pay their own way," said Eric Walker, energy justice senior policy manager at WE ACT for Environmental Justice.

Russ Haven, general counsel at NYPIRG, said, "New Yorkers are straining under some of the highest utility costs in the nation, with hundreds of thousands on the brink of termination. Forcing ratepayers to subsidize energy-hogging data centers is unfair, will further hurt impacted communities, and will blow up the state's climate policies. NYPIRG's message to policymakers is clear: Not one electron, not one ratepayer dollar should go to support an energy-hogging data center. New York should tell the data centers and other energy hogs 'BYORE' – Bring Your Own Renewable Energy!"

Food & Water Watch's New York State director, Laura Shindell, said, "Big Tech's AI data centers are nothing but a costly scam for New Yorkers. Data centers will be used as an excuse to build new pipelines, gas plants, and nuclear plants - all of which would cost families already drowning in sky-high utility bills many more billions of dollars to build, in addition to the costs associated directly with the data centers. New York doesn't need more pipelines and dirty power plants for speculative data center demand - we need affordable renewable power that lowers bills and cuts pollution. That's why lawmakers must consider the full repercussions and costs of data center infrastructure before it's too late."