(The Center Square) – Ohio’s largest power company will charge more for data centers than commercial and residential customers after a settlement announcement that also lifts the company’s moratorium on connecting new data centers.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ordered American Electric Power to file new tariffs for data centers while adopting the settlement between AEP Ohio, PUCO, Ohio Consumers’ Counsel and other groups, including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.
“Today’s order represents a well-balanced package that safeguards nondata center customers on an industrial and residential level while establishing a dependable and reasonable environment for data centers to continue to thrive within Ohio,” Commission Chairwoman Jennifer French said in a statement.
The settlement contains safeguards that protect non-data center consumers from being subject to cost-shifting to allow AEP to make up for expenses from underused data center investments.
Data centers create the computing power for AI and store the large amounts of information needed for those technologies, but Incentives are often opposed because, despite the large amount of money spent on the buildings, they do not require much staff and take a large amount of energy.
The settlement comes as data centers are creating concern across the country. Opponents say the massive facilities would strain energy grids, pushing consumer power prices higher with little job-creation benefit.
The average American’s energy bill could increase from 25% to 70% in the next 10 years without intervention from policymakers, according to Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Jack Kemp Foundation.
According to a poll released last week by Libertas Network, most U.S. voters oppose having data centers built in their community and even more oppose the data centers if tax incentives are awarded to have them built.
Libertas had Overton Insights ask the data center questions upon suggestion from The Center Square.
The poll asked voters specifically if they supported or opposed building new data centers for artificial intelligence in their community with 46% of respondents strongly or somewhat opposing the prospect, 36% strongly or somewhat supporting and 18% uncertain.
As previously reported by The Center Square, Microsoft announced in October it planned to invest $1 billion to build three data centers in Central Ohio, with the state kicking in tax incentives.
Microsoft said the entire project could create hundreds of full-time jobs at the campuses in Heath, Hebron and New Albany. The first phase could involve 400 construction jobs.
