Legislators weigh plans to reduce data center costs for Ohioans

Ohio is experiencing a rapid influx of data centers, which require large amounts of energy and water. In response, Ohio legislators are proposing bipartisan bills to limit the costs that data centers can pass on to consumers. House Bill 706, introduced by state Reps. Tristan Rader (D) and David Thomas (R), would ban electric companies from charging other consumers for costs incurred by data centers. It would also require data centers to agree to financial protections for Ohioans, including paying at least 85% of their energy costs for no less than 12 years, before they can begin construction. This builds on existing protections for AEP Ohio, the state's largest electric utility, which was allowed by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to create special rate structures for data centers last year. Under the new rate structure, data centers requiring more than 25 megawatts per month must pay at least 85% of energy costs. Ohio legislators are considering other regulatory changes as well, including House Bill 646 which would establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the impacts of data centers on issues like health, pollution, and safety. There are also proposals to repeal state tax breaks for data centers. At the federal level, President Trump announced a 'Ratepayer Protection Pledge' where major tech companies like Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google have agreed to cover the costs of power supplies and infrastructure for their data centers, in order to relieve burdens on local residents. Ohio Sen. Jon Husted discussed the importance of data centers and AI for economic and national security, but said Ohio families are concerned about the impact on their electricity bills.