New York State Senators Liz Krueger and Kristen Gonzalez unveiled a legislative proposal on Friday to halt approvals for new data centers for a minimum of three years and 90 days. This temporary freeze would enable comprehensive evaluations of consequences and revisions to current guidelines. The measure directs the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Public Service Commission to deliver evaluation documents and analyses over this interval, in addition to enacting any additional directives or rules considered essential to lessen the effects of data centers on New York's ecology and residents.
The proposal obliges these agencies to investigate data centers' consumption of water, power, and natural gas, including influences on utility pricing and various other aspects. Drawing from a Bloomberg study, the legislation observes that residential electricity costs rose 13 percent nationwide in 2025, primarily due to data center growth. Wired reports that New York marks the sixth state this year to pursue restrictions on data centers, succeeding Georgia, Maryland, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Virginia. The initiative is at a preliminary point and has been forwarded to the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee for review.