AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 10; Title 62; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69, relative to data centers.
HB2456 creates a new Tennessee registration and reporting regime for large data centers, defined as privately owned and operated facilities with more than 20 megawatts of power capacity. Beginning January 1, 2027, a data center may not operate in the state unless it is registered with the Department of Revenue. To register, the owner or operator must provide the facility’s address, responsible contact information, estimated power capacity, and the names of the electric, water, and backup fuel suppliers serving the site, and must update the department within 30 days of any change.
Once a data center is registered, the department must notify the relevant fuel suppliers, electric utilities, and water utilities, which are then required to report the amount of fuel, electricity, or water supplied during each billing period. The bill also requires data center operators to notify the department when operations cease. The Department of Revenue must compile the information into monthly public reports on its website showing the most recently reported fuel use, electricity use, and water use for each data center in Tennessee.
The bill would add a new part to Tennessee Code Annotated Title 65 and would impose new compliance duties on data center owners/operators, utilities, and fuel suppliers. It also authorizes the Department of Revenue to promulgate rules, assess civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day with a $25,000 cap for noncompliance, and seek injunctive relief in Davidson County Chancery Court to stop continuing violations. In practical terms, the measure would increase state oversight and public disclosure of large data center resource consumption, while requiring utilities and fuel suppliers to provide recurring usage data to the state.
The available voting history suggests the bill faced resistance early in the process, as it failed 2-4 in the House Business and Utilities Subcommittee. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate broader support or opposition beyond that vote. The bill’s structure suggests a policy interest in transparency and resource tracking, but the subcommittee result indicates that at least some members were not persuaded to advance it.
The main points of contention likely involve the burden of mandatory registration and recurring reporting on data center operators, utilities, and fuel suppliers, as well as the public posting of facility-specific fuel, electricity, and water usage. Opponents may view the bill as imposing new administrative costs, compliance obligations, and potential confidentiality or competitiveness concerns for data center operators. Supporters would likely emphasize transparency, state oversight of large energy and water users, and the need for better information about infrastructure impacts, but no transcript is available to confirm specific arguments.