House gives big support to data center bill

The Oklahoma House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed HB2992, known as the "Data Center Customer Ratepayer Protection Act," with a 92-2 vote on Monday, sending the measure to the Senate. Authored by Rep. Brad Boles, R-Marlow, the bill requires large load data centers to directly cover their infrastructure costs, preventing these expenses from being shifted to general ratepayers. Rep. Boles explained that if a new power facility is primarily dedicated to a data center, that center would be responsible for its proportional share of the infrastructure costs, ensuring they pay for 100% of the grid demands they introduce. The bill empowers the Corporation Commission, as well as entities like the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority and Grand River Dam Authority, to enforce this policy across all areas of Oklahoma. Boles emphasized that data center power demands represent an unprecedented scale in state history, potentially costing billions in infrastructure, and the bill aims to shield constituents from these burdens. In related legislative news, Rep. Clay Staires, R-Avant, a co-author of HB2992, noted its passage makes it the only data center bill to advance out of committee from nine initially proposed House and Senate measures. Another significant bill, SB1488 by Sen. Kendal Sacchieri, R-Blanchard, which would have imposed a moratorium on data center construction until 2029 and ordered a study on impacts to water supply, failed to secure a hearing in committee and is considered dead for the year.