Experts Assess Ramaswamy's Free Electricity Plan for Ohio Data Centers
Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has proposed a plan to require data centers in Ohio to provide free electricity generation to nearby residents or offer direct subsidies, while also meeting environmental standards. Experts, including former regulators and energy policy lawyers, largely view the plan as unworkable due to significant legal, technical, and regulatory complexities. The proposal also includes a conditional moratorium on new data center projects until relevant legislation is enacted.
Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has put forth an ambitious plan to regulate data centers, promising free electricity to residents living near future facilities. His proposal mandates that data center developers either provide excess electricity from their private power plants to local homes or offer direct subsidies, in addition to adhering to specific environmental standards. Ramaswamy stated that non-compliant projects would not receive state approval, and on his first day in office, he would issue an executive order to halt all data center projects until new state laws are passed to implement his vision. He later clarified that the "free electricity" would only cover the generation portion of the bill, roughly half of a customer's total cost.
Energy and data center experts have largely dismissed Ramaswamy's plan as impractical, citing a complex web of state, federal, and multistate energy regulations. Ashley Brown, executive director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group, called it unworkable, while energy policy lawyer Kim Bojko highlighted legal issues, such as U.S. constitutional restrictions on government taking property without compensation, and practical problems with connecting private data center plants to the broader grid. Bojko also noted that Ramaswamy would lack influence over federal grid operator PJM and private utility companies, further complicating implementation.
Ramaswamy's Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, offers a more modest plan, focusing on environmental, transparency, and labor standards, as well as a conditional moratorium on data centers until these provisions are met. Experts consider Acton's proposal more realistic, while Ramaswamy's campaign has criticized it as unoriginal. The debate also touches on Ohio's lucrative data center tax breaks, which were worth $2 billion in 2025 and are a key concern for the industry. Some analysts, like Mike Jacobs of the Union of Concerned Scientists, praised Ramaswamy's goal of wealth transfer from rich companies but found his electricity plan "word salad," suggesting his idea to use property tax proceeds to lower local tax bills is more feasible, akin to strategies used in Loudoun County, Virginia.
The feasibility of Ramaswamy's plan, especially the free electricity component, remains highly contentious. Concerns include potential overconsumption of electricity by residents, determining benefit zones, and the risk that data center developers might simply choose to build in other states to avoid such requirements. While Ramaswamy's plan is seen as a bold political move to address public concerns about data center impacts on the grid and environment, experts emphasize the need for buy-in from entities like PJM and the federal government for any significant policy changes to be actionable.