AEP's crisis is a power play that will gouge Ohioans| Opinion

Ohio Manufacturers’ Association President Ryan Augsburger has voiced strong concerns that utility company AEP is inflating future power demand estimates, particularly by overstating the impact of new data centers in Ohio. Augsburger contends that utilities, including AEP, profit from capital expenditures on new infrastructure, creating a direct incentive to inflate these forecasts, ultimately passing billions in potentially unnecessary costs onto Ohioans through higher electric bills. He highlights AEP's past settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over misleading statements related to the House Bill 6 bribery scandal as a precedent for the utility's current "power play." The OMA has released a report challenging the accuracy of utility demand estimates, pointing out that data center projects may be double-counted and that factors like behind-the-meter generation and improved compute energy-efficiency are often overlooked. These questionable projections have already led to regional grid operator PJM Interconnection approving $11.8 billion in new transmission projects. The OMA is pushing for rigorous testing, transparency, and accountability in these demand forecasts, advocating for accurate cost allocation for data centers. Furthermore, the OMA criticized AEP’s new data center tariff, arguing it prioritizes AEP's profits over ratepayer protection and lacks a proper rate impact analysis. They are committed to fighting what they describe as a "flawed, discriminatory, utility-favored data center tariff" and will continue to press the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and the Ohio Senate Energy Committee for reforms to protect customers from inflated power bills and ensure transparent utility planning.