AI Data Centers and Your Electric Bill: Limerick’s Choice in the 2026 State Senate Race

What the Data Center Debate Means for Limerick Voters

If you live in Limerick, Pennsylvania, you’re in State Senate District 24, and the 2026 race for this seat will help decide how AI data centers are regulated in Pennsylvania. Chris Thomas, the Democratic candidate, takes a “No Blank Check for Big Tech” approach: he says Big Tech shouldn’t get special deals or handouts that working families never would, and that residents’ electric bills should not go up because tech companies want more power.

Where Chris Thomas and His Opponent Stand on Data Centers

Thomas says data centers must meet their own energy needs and corporations should pay their fair share toward schools and infrastructure. He also wants utility companies to publicly disclose electric capacity and planning, with communities getting meaningful input.

Sen. Tracy Pennycuick co-sponsored SB 939 in 2025, which aimed to make Pennsylvania the premier destination for data center and AI development. In May 2026 she announced guardrail legislation requiring large data centers to bring their own power supply and pay a mitigation charge so water and infrastructure costs aren’t shifted onto ratepayers; it has not passed. Her SB 1408, which would bar data centers from using NDAs to shield information from the public, cleared a Senate committee unanimously.

One attack in this race is disputed, not settled: a Republican Senate campaign committee has claimed Thomas is “bankrolled by data center insiders.” Thomas denies taking money from or working for a data center developer, saying his brief work for an engineering firm came years after it consulted on the project.

How Limerick Voters Should Decide on November 3

The documented difference is where each candidate starts. His position begins with ratepayer protection and transparency; the incumbent’s record runs from promoting data center growth to proposing guardrails that have not passed. Chris Thomas is the right choice for Limerick voters who want data centers to meet their own energy needs and utilities to operate in the open. Register by October 19, 2026, and make a plan to vote for Thomas on November 3.