California: data centers & your electric bill
The numbers residents cite at hearings — grid, water, and regulator contacts for California, from the free GridWatch toolkit.
Subscribe by RSS — moratorium changes and community headlines for California.
As of July 2026 · changes over months · Source: U.S. Data Center Power Map by State — ElectricChoice.com compilation (updated July 2026; CC-BY 4.0). Underlying load research: LBNL 2024 US Data Center Energy Usage Report; rates: EIA
Facility counts vary by directory because each one draws the boundary differently — DataCenterMap lists 44 in Alabama where this table says 35, since it counts small network rooms alongside hyperscale campuses. Cite the TWh figure rather than the facility count when you can; it is the number that speaks to grid impact. Underlying load research is LBNL-2001637 (Dec 2024).
Your regulator
California Public Utilities Commission — website · file a complaint
Official state energy data: EIA California electricity profile — generation, prices, and consumption from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Pushback already happening in California
| Where | Level | Status | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County | Local | Enactedexpires 2027-06-16 | 45-day urgency ordinance, extended unanimously on Jul 14 by 10 months 15 days — a full year of paused permits while an advisory committee drafts rules (recommendations due Jan 2027) | Source read 2026-08-04 |
| Desert Hot Springs | Local | Enactedexpires 2028-06-17 | 45-day urgency ordinance extended unanimously on Jul 7 by 22 months 15 days — the full two years California law allows | Source read 2026-08-04 |
| Coachella | Local | Enacted | 45-day moratorium on new data-center applications, adopted unanimously alongside terminating the city's agreement with Stronghold Power over a 400+-acre, six-data-center campus; extended Jul 9, 2026 as the council moves toward a permanent ban. Treat any specific expiry as unconfirmed — the council was actively extending it as of this writing. | Source read 2026-08-12 |
| Monterey Park | Local | Enacted | Permanent ban via ballot measure, approved overwhelmingly by voters — first U.S. city to ban data centers by popular vote. Originally a 45-day moratorium (Jan 21), extended 1 year, then put on the ballot | Source read 2026-08-13 |
As of August 2026 · changes weekly — re-check before citing
Illustrative rather than exhaustive — dozens of localities churn weekly, and this tracks the ones we have read a source for. **Each row carries its own provenance.** Rows showing a verification date link to the ordinance, the enacting body's own page, or a datable report of the vote, and were read on that date. Rows marked *unverified* came from bulk compilation and have not been checked against a primary source — the locality, the year, and the status may all be off. Verify one of those with the town clerk before citing it as precedent. **Expiry is derived, not asserted.** A row with a documented end date flips to *Expired* on its own once that date passes. A time-limited moratorium whose start date was never documented keeps showing as enacted — that is a known gap, not a claim that it is still in force. Moratoriums are also routinely extended, so an expiry date is the earliest it could have ended, not proof that it did.
Known data center campuses in California
| Operator | Location | Tenant | Filing LLC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | Santa Clara / San Jose | Microsoft | Project-name / generic 'Holdings LLC'; less consistently codenamed |
⏳ No verification date recorded · changes over months · Source: Operator ownership & filing-LLC naming patterns — compiled from operator releases and county filings, then checked against SEC EDGAR full-text search. Composite, not a single citation: look the entity up yourself before naming it in a filing
Each row carries its own attribution level — first-party rows come from the operator's own site, but colocation and REIT ownership was compiled from trade press and never passed an independent fact-check. Check the attribution column before citing a row.
Every data center already built in California
The campuses above are the ones GridWatch tracks by operator and filing LLC. For the full inventory — street addresses of every existing facility, including the smaller colocation and network sites — DataCenterMap keeps a public directory for California.
Browse the California directory →
Two caveats before you cite it at a hearing: it lists facilities that already exist, so a newly proposed campus will not appear; and it counts a small network room the same as a hyperscale campus, so the facility count is not a measure of power draw or community impact.
Desert Hot Springs — City Council
Meets: See the council's published agenda calendar · City Hall, 11999 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
Public comment: See the council's Agendas, Minutes & Videos portal for the public-comment process.
Source: https://www.cityofdhs.org/departments/city-council/ · as of 2026-08-07
Butte County — Water Commission
Meets: 1st Wednesday of the month, 1:30 p.m. · Board of Supervisors Chambers, 25 County Center Drive, Suite 205, Oroville, CA 95965
Public comment: In person, or electronically to BCWATER@BUTTECOUNTY.NET.
Source: https://buttecounty.granicus.com/boards/w/839ba29f34a61ab5/b · as of 2026-08-10
Pittsburg — City Council
Meets: 1st and 3rd Monday, 7:00 p.m. · Pittsburg Civic Center, City Council Chambers, 65 Civic Avenue, Pittsburg, CA 94565
Public comment: Agendas are posted at City Hall, the Pittsburg Library, and the city website; emailed 10 days in advance to those who request notice.
Source: https://www.pittsburgca.gov/services/city-council/council-me · as of 2026-08-12
Gilroy — City Council
Meets: 1st and 3rd Monday of the month, 6:00 p.m. · City Council Chambers, 7351 Rosanna Street, Gilroy, CA 95020
Public comment: In-person: up to 3 min (scaled to 2 or 1 min for 11+ or 20+ speakers). Zoom participation available. Written comments to publiccomments@cityofgilroy.org by 1:00 p.m. on the meeting date.
Source: https://www.cityofgilroy.org/341/City-Council · as of 2026-08-12
Latest California data center news
No California data-center headlines in this week's national scan — local coverage often runs ahead of it.
Search live California data center news → GridWatch news feed →
Video coverage mentioning California
State municipal league: League of California Cities
A data center was proposed near you?
The free toolkit walks you through it in five steps: who's really behind the LLC, what it costs your community, what to do this week, and a downloadable action pack — speech, letters, flyer, and CBA targets included.