Florida SB 484 large load tariffs for AI data centers

In short

Florida law now requires large AI data centers to pay their own full cost of electric service. Under SB 484, each public electric utility must file a large load tariff with the Florida Public Service Commission by October 1, 2026. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(8). The tariff applies to any customer with an anticipated monthly peak load of 50 megawatts or more at a single location. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(2)(d). The tariff must reasonably ensure that costs are not shifted to the general body of ratepayers. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(3)(a). A public utility cannot knowingly serve a large load customer that is a foreign entity tied to a foreign country of concern, including China and Russia. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(7), Fla. Stat. § 692.201(3). The bill also tightens water permitting for large scale data centers and confirms that local governments keep control over zoning. Fla. Stat. § 373.262, Fla. Stat. § 163.326. Two utilities already have large load tariffs in place. Those will now be measured against the new statutory floor.

What does SB 484 require of Florida utilities?

The law creates a new section, Fla. Stat. § 366.043. Ch. 2026-65, § 3. It applies to public electric utilities. That covers the four investor-owned utilities (IOUs) regulated closely by the PSC, including Florida Power & Light (FPL), Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric (TECO), and Florida Public Utilities Corporation (FPUC). PSC Facts and Figures 2025, PSC facts. Municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives are not fully regulated by the PSC. Municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives are not required to file a large load tariff under SB 484 because the bill defines public utility by reference to s. 366.02, F.S., which expressly excludes them. CS/CS/SB 484 bill text. The four IOUs must comply.

Each public utility must file a large load tariff with the PSC by October 1, 2026. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(8). The PSC reviews the filing under its existing ratemaking authority. The statute does not require the PSC to adopt implementing rules. It directs the utilities to file and the PSC to act.

The tariff must cover any large load customer. And it must include several specific protections, explained below.

Who is a large load customer under SB 484?

A large load customer is a customer whose anticipated monthly peak load is 50 megawatts or more, calculated as the highest average load over a 15 minute interval at a single location. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(2)(d). Peak load is measured as the highest average load over any 15-minute interval during the month. If a project expects to draw that much power at one site for even one interval, it qualifies.

The definition also includes three rules.

• The site counts all users together. If a campus has several tenants or colocation customers that together reach 50 MW, the entire site is a large load customer. It does not matter that each individual tenant falls below the threshold. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(2)(d).
• Separate locations do not stack. The same customer might own three sites, each using 45 MW. Those loads are not added together. Each site is tested on its own.
• Load splitting is forbidden. A customer cannot split the electrical load at one location into several smaller connections just to stay under 50 MW. The law expressly prohibits that. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(4).

What must the tariff include?

The tariff must meet three requirements. It can also use recognized financial tools to meet those requirements.

The customer must pay its full cost of service

The tariff must reasonably ensure that the large load customer bears its own full cost of service. No cost may be shifted to the general body of ratepayers. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(3)(a). The statute lists the costs that must be covered, including connection costs, incremental transmission costs, incremental generation costs, other infrastructure costs, operations and maintenance costs, and any other cost required to serve the customer.

The risk that the customer does not pay cannot fall on other ratepayers. So the tariff must include financial protections to cover that risk.

No service to a foreign entity

The tariff must include provisions reasonably designed to prevent a public utility from providing electric service to a customer that would otherwise qualify as a large load customer if that customer is a foreign entity. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(3)(b). The law also imposes a direct ban. A public utility may not knowingly serve a large load customer that is a foreign entity. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(7).

A foreign entity is one that meets any of these tests. It is owned or controlled by the government of a foreign country of concern. It is organized under the laws of a foreign country of concern or has its principal place of business there. Or it is a subsidiary of an entity organized under the laws of a foreign country of concern or having its principal place of business there. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(2)(c).

The list of foreign countries of concern appears in Fla. Stat. § 692.201(3). It includes the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro, and the Syrian Arab Republic. Fla. Stat. § 692.201(3).

The law also defines what it means to be controlled by another. A person or an entity that directly or indirectly has the right to vote 25% or more of the voting interests of the company or that is entitled to 25% or more of its profits is presumed to control the entity. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(2)(a). A minority stake at that level can trigger the ban.

Curtailment must always remain available

The tariff and any related contract cannot block a utility from curtailing or interrupting service to a large load customer. No tariff, contractual provision, service requirement, or other public utility policy may prevent or hinder the curtailment or interruption of electric service to a large load customer where such curtailment is intended to ensure grid stability, reduce the likelihood or breadth of wider service outages, or ensure public safety during an emergency or other exceptional circumstance. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(6). Even a long-term contract cannot restrict that right.

Allowed ratemaking tools

To meet the cost coverage requirement, the PSC can approve tariffs that use industry-accepted ratemaking and financial tools. The statute lists seven examples, though the list is not exhaustive. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(5).

• Contributions in aid of construction, which can be refunded in part over time.
• Demand charges, including minimum demand charges.
• Incremental generation charges.
• Financial guarantees.
• Minimum load factors.
• Take-or-pay provisions that require payment for contracted capacity even if the customer does not use it.
• Minimum service term requirements with early termination fees.

Together, these tools let the PSC and the utility design a tariff that covers infrastructure costs without burdening other customers.

When must utilities comply?

The tariff requirement takes effect July 1, 2026. Ch. 2026-65, § 8. The tariff itself must be filed by October 1, 2026. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(8). That gives utilities roughly three months from the effective date to prepare and submit their proposed tariffs. The PSC then reviews them under its normal rate case process.

How do the new rules interact with existing FPL and Duke large load tariffs?

Two of Florida’s largest utilities already have large load tariffs approved before SB 484 became law. The law now creates a new statutory minimum. How those existing tariffs fit against that minimum is the central practical question for developers and lenders today.

Florida Power & Light (FPL)

In January 2026, the PSC approved FPL’s Large Load Contract Service tariffs, LLCS-1 and LLCS-2. PSC Order PSC-2026-0022-S-EI. The tariffs took effect January 1, 2026.

LLCS-1 covers customers with a new or incremental load of 50 MW or more and a load factor of 85% or higher. It is limited to three zones in Martin, St. Lucie, and Palm Beach counties, with a combined cap of 3 GW. FPL tariff detail. The tariff includes a stated Incremental Generation Charge of $28.07 per kW per month. It requires a 20-year minimum term, a 70% minimum take or pay demand charge, exit fees, and financial security equal to the present value of five or ten years of incremental generation charge revenues depending on the customer’s credit rating. Settlement exhibit, LLCS-1 tariff. The all-in cost is approximately 10.16 cents per kWh, more than 69% above FPL’s current general service large demand rate. Trade analysis.

LLCS-2 is available for loads outside those three zones. The IGC is set by a formula rather than a fixed number.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida filed a petition for its large load tariff, called LLC-1, in September 2025 (Docket No. 20250113-EI). The docket closed on April 27, 2026. PSC docket. The tariff proposed a 100 MW threshold (higher than SB 484’s 50 MW), a 36-month minimum term, take-or-pay obligations, collateral and exit fee provisions, and applied to customers at 230 kV transmission voltage or higher. Duke petition. The final disposition of that filing is not fully clear from the public docket. A prehearing and hearing were canceled in March 2026 and a status report was ordered.

Side-by-side comparison

FPL’s tariffs go further than the statutory floor in several places, like the 20-year term and the 70% take-or-pay. Duke’s 100 MW threshold sits higher than the 50 MW statutory definition. The most immediate open question is whether the PSC will require Duke to lower its threshold and require both utilities to add express foreign entity and curtailment language in their tariff sheets. Even without a tariff amendment, the utility cannot knowingly serve a foreign entity. But the tariff itself must contain provisions to prevent such service. So some amendment is likely necessary.

As of May 2026, no public filings have appeared for Tampa Electric or Florida Public Utilities Corporation regarding large load tariffs, though both must still file by the October 1, 2026 deadline.

How does SB 484 affect water use for AI data centers?

SB 484 also creates a new water permitting framework for large scale data centers in Fla. Stat. § 373.262. Ch. 2026-65, § 5. A large-scale data center is a single location, with a data center on site, that has an anticipated monthly peak load of 50 megawatts or more, calculated as the highest average load over a 15-minute interval. Fla. Stat. § 373.203(4). A data center is defined as a facility that primarily contains electronic equipment used to process, store, and transmit digital information, which may be a free standing structure or a facility within a larger structure that uses environmental control equipment to maintain the proper conditions for the operation of electronic equipment. Fla. Stat. § 373.203(3).

The governing board of a water management district or the Department of Environmental Protection may not issue a consumptive use permit to a large-scale data center applicant if the proposed water use is harmful to the water resources of the area or is prohibited by the applicable local government zoning regulations and comprehensive plan. Fla. Stat. § 373.262(2). A permit must be issued when the applicant shows the use is reasonable beneficial, will not interfere with existing legal uses, and is consistent with the public interest.

When a suitable reclaimed water supply source is available and permitted, reclaimed water distribution or supply lines are available at the property boundary in sufficient capacity and quality to serve the applicant’s needs, and several other conditions are met, the governing board or the department must require a large-scale data center to use reclaimed water in lieu of all or a portion of its surface water or groundwater use. Fla. Stat. § 373.262(3).

For applications by a large-scale data center requesting at least 100,000 gallons per day average daily flow, the applicant must submit all sources and amounts of water and losses of water used for cooling, industrial and treatment processes, personal or sanitary needs of employees, and landscape irrigation, and a water conservation plan. Fla. Stat. § 373.262(4)(a). The plan must include cooling water recycling, leak detection and repair, water efficient fixtures, and employee education.

Two more rule changes apply. A CUP application for a large-scale data center cannot be approved without a hearing. Fla. Stat. § 373.262(4)(b). And any modification of an existing CUP by a large-scale data center must be treated as a new initial application. Fla. Stat. § 373.239(2) (amended by Ch. 2026-65, § 6). That ends the simpler path of amending an older permit.

What authority do local governments keep?

Local governments retain authority over comprehensive planning and land development regulation for large load customers. Fla. Stat. § 163.326(2). A large load customer cannot be treated as an electric substation for purposes of a statute that limits local regulation of substations. So a city or county can zone, deny, or condition these projects just as it would any other large development. That matters because many AI data center proposals in Florida have drawn active local opposition.

What study is required?

The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) must contract for an independent interdisciplinary study of the policy issues around large-scale data centers. Ch. 2026-65, § 7. The study must cover economic development and tax revenue impacts, land, water, and natural resource use, energy use and rate impacts, and public health and safety. It must also include siting and mitigation recommendations. The report is due to the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker by July 1, 2027. That study could well drive a second round of legislation.

How are real Florida projects affected?

Several AI data center projects are moving through planning or approval in Florida. Each must now navigate the new power and water rules.

Fort Meade AI Data Center Campus (Polk County). The city commission approved the project in April 2026 on roughly 1,300 acres of former phosphate mine. The plan includes up to 4.4 million square feet, a roughly $2.6 billion investment, and about 1.2 GW of power demand. Developer Stonebridge secured a 20 year development agreement and a $150 million 10 year local tax break. The project still needs a water use permit from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. It is powered by Duke Energy’s Hines Complex. With 1.2 GW of load, the project sits squarely under SB 484 and Duke’s large load tariff when it is finalized. Florida data center tracker, Duke large load docket, Ledger

Project Tango (Palm Beach County). A proposal on 202 acres in Loxahatchee, adjacent to FPL’s West County Energy Center. Originally planned for 3.7 million square feet, it was scaled back to roughly 1 million square feet after more than 8,000 petition signatures. The zoning vote has been delayed, with a final County Commission hearing now set for July 2026. A rival proposal from TPA Group emerged for 1.15 million square feet on a portion of the land. The project would likely qualify for FPL’s LLCS tariff. Both the water permit and the tariff will be governed by the new law. Governor’s Office

Sentinel Grove Technology Park (Project Jarvis, St. Lucie County). A 1,218-acre, 15 million square foot, $13.5 billion investment. The planning commission voted to recommend denial. The developers voluntarily withdrew the land-use application in February 2026, citing the advancing state legislation as one reason. News

Other proposals at earlier steps include Atlas Compute in St. Lucie County (240 MW to 1 GW), NextNRG near Jacksonville (1,600 acres, 200 MW microgrid), and Indiantown in Martin County (606 acres). Each will now need to model the cost of the applicable large load tariff early in the development timeline and structure the entity to avoid the foreign entity ban.

Key takeaways

• Every public electric utility in Florida must file a large load tariff with the PSC by October 1, 2026.
• The tariff must cover any customer or site that expects to use 50 MW or more at peak, measured in a 15-minute interval. Colocated tenants count together.
• The tariff must ensure the customer pays its own full cost of service. No cost shift to other ratepayers. Financial tools like take-or-pay, contributions in aid of construction, and demand charges are expressly allowed.
• A utility cannot serve a large load customer that is a foreign entity tied to a country of concern (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela under the Maduro regime, and Syria). A 25% voting or profit stake creates a presumption of control.
• Curtailment during grid emergencies cannot be restricted by contract.
• FPL’s existing LLCS tariffs and Duke’s LLC-1 filing will be reviewed against SB 484’s floor. The PSC will likely require amendments, including explicit foreign entity bans, and may require Duke to lower its threshold to 50 MW.
• Large scale data centers (same 50 MW threshold) face tighter water permitting. Reclaimed water use is mandatory when available. Applications over 100,000 gallons per day need a conservation plan. Any permit modification is treated as a new application.
• Local governments retain full zoning and land use control. The law does not preempt local authority.
• The OPPAGA study due July 1, 2027 could prompt further legislative action.
• A developer structuring a deal should price the utility’s large load tariff early and vet the entity structure for any tie to a foreign country of concern.

Frequently asked questions

Q:What is the threshold for a large load customer under SB 484?

A:Fifty megawatts (50 MW) at a single location, measured as the highest average load over any 15-minute interval in a month. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(2)(d).

Q:Does SB 484 apply to municipal utilities?

A:No. Municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives are not required to file a large load tariff under SB 484. The bill defines public utility by reference to § 366.02, F.S., which expressly excludes them. CS/CS/SB 484 bill text.

Q:Can a customer split its load to avoid the 50 MW threshold?

A:No. The law expressly prohibits separating an electrical load at a single location into multiple smaller connections to avoid being classified as a large load customer. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(4).

Q:Who counts as a foreign entity?

A:An entity owned or controlled by a foreign country of concern, or organized under its laws or with its principal place of business there, or a subsidiary. The countries are China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela (Maduro regime), and Syria. Fla. Stat. § 692.201(3). A person or entity with 25% or more of voting interests or profits is presumed to control the entity. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(2)(a).

Q:What if an existing contract does not mention the foreign entity ban?

A:The statute prohibits a public utility from knowingly providing electric service to a large load customer that is a foreign entity. Fla. Stat. § 366.043(7). The utility must comply regardless of what the contract says. The utility also must update its tariff to include an enforcement mechanism.

Q:Will FPL and Duke have to refile their large load tariffs?

A:They must file a compliant tariff by October 1, 2026. If their current tariffs lack the required provisions, the PSC will likely direct amendments. How much the PSC will require beyond the express statutory floor remains to be seen.

Q:What water rules apply to an AI data center under 50 MW?

A:The new water permitting rules under Fla. Stat. § 373.262 apply only to large-scale data centers that meet the 50 MW threshold. A smaller AI data center follows the standard consumptive use permitting process. Local zoning and water management district rules still apply.

Q:Is there a grandfathering provision for projects already underway?

A:SB 484 does not contain a grandfather clause. Projects that have already signed utility contracts or received water permits may still need to comply going forward. Any modification of a water permit triggers the new application requirement. The power tariff rules apply to all new service and likely to existing contracts that do not meet the statutory standards.

Q:What happens if a utility misses the October 1 deadline?

A:The statute does not prescribe a specific penalty. The PSC can order compliance under its general regulatory authority. A utility that fails to file risks enforcement.

Q:Does the law ban local tax incentives for AI data centers?

A:No. The law does not prohibit local tax breaks or state incentives. The House considered a full ban in a companion bill that was set aside. The Fort Meade project, for instance, received a local tax break. The OPPAGA study may recommend changes.

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Junde Liu, JD, LL.M. (Taxation) candidate at UF Law. Originally published on Compute Law Blog. This article is general information and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. The reader should not act on the basis of any content here without first consulting a licensed attorney in the relevant state. Last reviewed for accuracy May 23, 2026.