COLUMBUS, Ohio — A controversial data center tariff proposed by AES Ohio could leave local manufacturers, small businesses, and residential ratepayers on the hook for more than $1.3 billion in electrical grid upgrades, according to a stunning new expert analysis.
The report, filed on behalf of the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association Energy Group (OMAEG), claims that despite being marketed as a safeguard, the proposal is actually “customer protection in name only.” Instead, the policy would shield monopoly utilities and tech companies while shifting massive infrastructure bills onto everyday Ohioans.
The Stark Math Behind the Cost Shift
The core of the dispute rests on just two massive data center projects slated for the AES Ohio service territory. According to the expert testimony, the upfront infrastructure costs for these projects total $837.5 million.
Because utilities are permitted to recover these investments over decades with interest, that initial cost balloons into a $2.77 billion revenue requirement for AES Ohio over the next 40 years.
Under the proposed tariff structure, the numbers create a massive financial deficit for regular consumers:
| Financial Element | Amount | Detail |
| Total 40-Year Grid Cost | $2.77 Billion | Total cost to upgrade transmission systems for two data centers. |
| Data Center Contribution | $1.4 Billion | Total guaranteed payments from the data center operators over a 12-year obligation. |
| The Taxpayer/Consumer Gap | $1.37 Billion | The leftover balance shifted to manufacturers and residential customers. |
“AES gets 40 years of guaranteed recovery. Data centers get a 12-year payment obligation. Customers get the gap,” said OMA President Ryan Augsburger. “That is not customer protection. That is a cost shift dressed up as a tariff.”
The Loophole in ‘Minimum Demand’ Charges
Electric utilities have frequently defended these types of tariffs by pointing to “minimum demand provisions”—rules that require data centers to pay for a baseline amount of power regardless of how much they use.
However, the OMA’s expert testimony argues these provisions are a mathematical illusion. While they alter how money is collected within the data center category, they completely fail to prevent the overall transmission costs from bleeding over into other customer classes, such as residential or primary manufacturing lines.
In fact, the testimony notes these provisions can actually make the problem worse. They can artificially inflate utility load forecasts, which prompts the construction of even more unnecessary infrastructure, further driving up rates for everyone else.
“The Causer Should Pay”
As state lawmakers consider utility-backed data center legislation, the OMA is urging the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to soundly reject the staff’s current proposal.
Instead, the association recommends that tech companies be forced to pay for 100% of their supplemental transmission upgrades up front, rather than spreading the financial burden across the state’s existing rate base. They are also calling for an independent analysis, cost-of-service studies, and technical workshops before any new rules are passed.
“Ohio manufacturers are not asking for special treatment,” Augsburger emphasized. “We are asking for the oldest rule in ratemaking to be enforced. The customer that causes the cost should pay the cost. If a data center needs a billion-dollar grid upgrade, the bill should go to the data center, not to Ohio manufacturers and other customers.”
