Overview
- Mayor Cherelle L. Parker signed an executive order Wednesday creating the Philadelphia Data Center Task Force and pausing approval of any new data center or hyperscale projects until the group issues recommendations by June 30, 2027.
- The task force will be co-led by city sustainability offices and include city departments, residents, labor, utilities, universities, advocates and industry to research benefits and harms and gather public input.
- City officials say Philadelphia currently has only small data centers and no active proposals for hyperscale AI facilities, and the executive order stops new approvals while the review is underway.
- Environmental groups and neighborhood activists say the task force is not enough and continue to press City Council for an immediate, multiyear moratorium to protect health, utility bills and local water supplies.
- The action follows statewide steps by Governor Josh Shapiro to tighten data center rules and comes as the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has warned that rapid data center demand could strain the electric grid and affect reliability.