As voters turn on data centers, Husted pushes new ratepayer protections

Ohio Senator Jon Husted, who previously spearheaded efforts to attract data centers to the state as Lieutenant Governor, has introduced new legislation, the Ratepayer Protection Act, to address the rising electricity costs attributed to the data center boom. The proposed bill aims to compel data centers and other major electricity consumers to bear the full costs of their energy use and associated infrastructure upgrades, preventing these expenses from being passed on to residential ratepayers. Husted cited widespread public backlash over soaring electric bills as a key motivator for the bill, emphasizing a commitment to accountability for large energy users.

The legislation represents a nuanced shift from Husted's prior stance, which included securing substantial tax incentives for projects like Google's $600 million data center in central Ohio in 2019. At that time, Husted argued for the economic benefits of such investments, positioning Ohio as a tech hub. However, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that Ohio's residential electricity rates have surged by 175% since 2005, significantly outpacing national averages and inflation, partly due to data center growth.

Despite Husted's insistence that the bill is consistent with his long-held focus on holding companies accountable, the timing coincides with a political challenge from former Senator Sherrod Brown, who has launched an ad campaign linking Husted to higher electricity costs and advocates for ending state tax breaks for data centers. Husted's bill, which currently lacks cosponsors in the Senate and has a stalled companion bill in the House, faces an uncertain future. He continues to support data center development but insists it should not burden local communities, advocating for their placement on vacant industrial sites and emphasizing local decision-making.