ND
North Dakota House Bill HB1579

North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Dakota House Bill HB1579 Compare Versions

OldNewDifferences
1-Sixty-ninth Legislative Assembly of North Dakota
2-In Regular Session Commencing Tuesday, January 7, 2025
3-HOUSE BILL NO. 1579
4-(Representatives Novak, Porter, Heinert)
5-(Senators Kessel, Patten)
6-AN ACT to provide for a legislative management study relating to the impact of large energy consumers
7-on the state's electrical grid.
1+25.1252.02000
2+Sixty-ninth
3+Legislative Assembly
4+of North Dakota
5+Introduced by
6+Representatives Novak, Porter, Heinert
7+Senators Kessel, Patten
8+A BILL for an Act to provide for a legislative management study relating to the impact of large
9+energy consumers on the state's electrical grid.
810 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
911 SECTION 1. LEGISLATIVE MANAGEMENT STUDY - IMPACT OF LARGE ENERGY
1012 CONSUMERS ON THE ELECTRICAL GRID.
11-1.During the 2025-26 interim, the legislative management shall study the impact of large energy
12-consumers, including data centers, on the electrical grid of this state, regulatory structure, and
13-economic development. The study must include an evaluation of the:
14-a.Electrical grid reliability and infrastructure requirements within the state, including the
15-capacity of the electrical grid, necessary upgrades to accommodate large energy
16-consumers, the cost of necessary upgrades to accommodate large energy consumers,
17-how the cost of necessary upgrades to accommodate large energy consumers are
18-allocated, effects of congestion on the electrical grid caused by increased development,
19-and best practices for integrating high-demand users while maintaining reliability for all
20-ratepayers;
21-b.Regulatory consistency throughout the state, including an assessment of the manner in
22-which state and local laws and regulations impact large energy consumers, whether the
23-certificate of public convenience and necessity process is appropriate for private-sector
24-end users, and whether regulatory inconsistencies exist between investor-owned utilities,
25-rural electric cooperatives, municipal power providers, and independent power
26-producers;
27-c.Economic impacts affecting the energy industry of the state, including an assessment of
28-job creation, tax revenue generation, and long-term investment trends tied to data center
29-development and other large energy consumers;
30-d.Market dynamics of the local and national energy industry, including the role of demand-
31-side management, local versus regional energy market participation, and the ability of
32-large consumers to support grid stability through off-peak consumption or other
33-grid-supportive practices;
34-e.Costs and impacts of all regulated and exempted public utilities, including best reporting
35-practices; and
36-f.Regulatory and exemption criteria relating to load size, system integration, application
37-processes, impacts to consumers and access to the regional grid systems, electrical
38-generation sources, the feasibility of colocated backup generators at various facilities,
39-and generation sources, including legacy electric generation units.
13+1.During the 2025-26 interim, the legislative management shall study the impact of large
14+energy consumers, including data centers, on the electrical grid of this state,
15+regulatory structure, and economic development. The study must include an
16+evaluation of the:
17+a.Electrical grid reliability and infrastructure requirements within the state, including
18+the capacity of the electrical grid, necessary upgrades to accommodate large
19+energy consumers, the cost of necessary upgrades to accommodate large
20+energy consumers, how the cost of necessary upgrades to accommodate large
21+energy consumers are allocated, effects of congestion on the electrical grid
22+caused by increased development, and best practices for integrating
23+high-demand users while maintaining reliability for all ratepayers;
24+b.Regulatory consistency throughout the state, including an assessment of the
25+manner in which state and local laws and regulations impact large energy
26+consumers, whether the certificate of public convenience and necessity process
27+is appropriate for private-sector end users, and whether regulatory
28+inconsistencies exist between investor-owned utilities, rural electric cooperatives,
29+municipal power providers, and independent power producers;
30+Page No. 1 25.1252.02000
31+ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 1579
32+FIRST ENGROSSMENT
33+1
34+2
35+3
36+4
37+5
38+6
39+7
40+8
41+9
42+10
43+11
44+12
45+13
46+14
47+15
48+16
49+17
50+18
51+19
52+20
53+21
54+22 Sixty-ninth
55+Legislative Assembly
56+c.Economic impacts affecting the energy industry of the state, including an
57+assessment of job creation, tax revenue generation, and long-term investment
58+trends tied to data center development and other large energy consumers;
59+d.Market dynamics of the local and national energy industry, including the role of
60+demand-side management, local versus regional energy market participation,
61+and the ability of large consumers to support grid stability through off-peak
62+consumption or other grid-supportive practices;
63+e.Costs and impacts of all regulated and exempted public utilities, including best
64+reporting practices; and
65+f.Regulatory and exemption criteria relating to load size, system integration,
66+application processes, impacts to consumers and access to the regional grid
67+systems, electrical generation sources, the feasibility of colocated backup
68+generators at various facilities, and generation sources including legacy electric
69+generation units.
4070 2.The study must include input from representatives of:
41-a.Data center operators and other large energy consumers operating or considering
42-investment in the state; H. B. NO. 1579 - PAGE 2
43-b.Investor-owned utilities, rural electric cooperatives, municipal power providers, and
44-independent power producers;
71+a.Data center operators and other large energy consumers operating or
72+considering investment in the state;
73+b.Investor-owned utilities, rural electric cooperatives, municipal power providers,
74+and independent power producers;
4575 c.The public service commission;
4676 d.The lignite energy council;
4777 e.The North Dakota transmission authority;
4878 f.Regional transmission organizations;
4979 g.The petroleum council; and
5080 h.Any other relevant state or federal agency.
51-3.The legislative management shall report its findings and recommendations, together with any
52-legislation required to implement the recommendations, to the seventieth legislative assembly. H. B. NO. 1579 - PAGE 3
53-____________________________ ____________________________
54-Speaker of the House President of the Senate
55-____________________________ ____________________________
56-Chief Clerk of the House Secretary of the Senate
57-This certifies that the within bill originated in the House of Representatives of the Sixty-ninth Legislative
58-Assembly of North Dakota and is known on the records of that body as House Bill No. 1579.
59-House Vote: Yeas 89 Nays 3 Absent 1
60-Senate Vote:Yeas 46 Nays 0 Absent 1
61-____________________________
62-Chief Clerk of the House
63-Received by the Governor at ________M. on _____________________________________, 2025.
64-Approved at ________M. on __________________________________________________, 2025.
65-____________________________
66-Governor
67-Filed in this office this ___________day of _______________________________________, 2025,
68-at ________ o’clock ________M.
69-____________________________
70-Secretary of State
81+3.The legislative management shall report its findings and recommendations, together
82+with any legislation required to implement the recommendations, to the seventieth
83+legislative assembly.
84+Page No. 2 25.1252.02000
85+1
86+2
87+3
88+4
89+5
90+6
91+7
92+8
93+9
94+10
95+11
96+12
97+13
98+14
99+15
100+16
101+17
102+18
103+19
104+20
105+21
106+22
107+23
108+24
109+25
110+26
111+27
112+28