Legislators weigh plans to reduce data center costs for Ohioans

Ohio lawmakers are proposing bipartisan bills to limit the costs that data centers can pass on to consumers, including banning electric companies from charging other customers for data center energy costs and requiring data centers to pay at least 85% of their energy costs for at least 12 years. This comes as Ohio communities push back against the influx of data centers, which require large amounts of energy and water. The proposed legislation also examines other concerns like health effects, noise, and light pollution from 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.