What Canada's data centre principles ask to be measured, and who measures it
NextGenergy has published a page and a guide for municipal staff on the power, water and heat figures that Canada's Responsible Data Centre Development Principles ask for.
Toronto, 12 September 2026. On 3 September 2026 the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities published five principles for responsible data centre development, and 23 companies signed. The principles are voluntary and are addressed to developers and operators.
Two of the five ask for measurement. Principle 3 asks that water consumption and environmental impacts be measured and transparently reported using recognised standards. Principle 4 asks for independently verifiable information on local impacts, including power and water use. Neither says who produces the figures or what the record should contain.
NextGenergy has published a page setting out what it measures as a supplier on every project it delivers in Canada, where, and who signs: electricity at the point of connection, with the metering boundary drawn on a single-line diagram; water withdrawn and consumed; heat available and delivered at the site boundary; and the method, including the ISO/IEC 30134 metrics and the commissioning agent's sign-off.
A four-page guide for municipal staff, Reading a Data Centre's Power, Water and Heat Numbers, ends in a fourteen-line evidence schedule that can be attached to a development agreement. It is free to copy and adapt.
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NextGenergy, Toronto. Media and other enquiries: sales@nextgenergy.ai. All news.