Governor enacts strict regulations for Pennsylvania data centers | Policy & Politics | bayjournal.com
Ah, marvellous. Governor Josh Shapiro has signed an executive order that he promises are the "strictest guardrails" in the country on AI data center development. What a slogan. In Pennsylvania, the rails were until now merely voluntary GRID standards—the sort of thing a well-meaning data center might get around to once all the actual building was done. Now, by decree, the suggestions are mandatory. The AI-industrial complex may wish to brace itself for the terror of being legally required to follow rules it could previously smile and ignore.
Lest we get too excited, recall that executive orders are the political equivalent of writing rules in pencil. They can be overwritten by the next governor, or—more amusingly—by the current governor when the data center lobby has a quiet word in his ear. The "strictest guardrails in the country" is a phrase designed for press releases, not for the substation capacity meetings where the real decisions happen. And what exactly do the GRID standards cover? The excerpt doesn't say, which is precisely the point: we are all meant to applaud the guardrails without inspecting the highway. Compulsory standards that remain opaque are just voluntary standards with better PR.
Still, credit where it's due: making voluntary standards mandatory is nominally a step up from what other states have managed, which in many cases is a shrug and a moratorium or a favour for whatever utility executive came to lunch. Shapiro gets to claim the title of strictest, and Pennsylvania's data center developers get the pleasure of complying with regulations whose enforcement apparatus is, as yet, unspecified. It's the regulatory equivalent of a stern letter sent by first-class post. The data centers will keep coming, the grid will keep humming, and the "strictest guardrails" will keep looking lovely on the governor's website. A round of applause for the new era of accountability—now if only we knew what it actually required.