
COLUMBUS, Ohio — July 9, 2025 — The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has directed AEP Ohio to establish a new rate structure specifically for data centers operating within its service area. The decision, issued Wednesday, is aimed at balancing the rapid growth of energy demand by data centers with the need to protect residential and industrial customers from increased costs.
The Commission’s order adopts a settlement agreement supported by AEP Ohio, PUCO staff, the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC), and a broad coalition of stakeholders, including major tech companies and energy providers. In the agreement, Data Centers will have to pay for an agreed portion of the energy they need each month to run, even if they do not use it.
“Today’s order represents a well-balanced package that safeguards non-data center customers on an industrial and residential level while establishing a dependable and reasonable environment for data centers to continue to thrive within Ohio,” said PUCO Chair Jenifer French.
The ruling comes in response to what the Commission described as “unprecedented load growth” from data centers, requiring AEP Ohio to make major investments in new transmission infrastructure. The newly approved tariff framework is intended to ensure that the financial burden of that growth does not fall on non-data center customers.
As part of the order, AEP Ohio is required to file updated tariffs and immediately lift its moratorium on connecting new data centers—a pause the utility had placed due to infrastructure strain.
The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) today issued the following statement in response to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) allowing the creation of a data center specific tariff:
“It is disappointing that the PUCO decided today to allow discriminatory tariffs on energy-intensive users, creating a slippery slope for utilities to potentially punish industrial and other high-energy users.
The PUCO’s rationale for the special tariff and the demonstration of “a real transmission constraint concern that requires a solution” is deeply flawed, based upon overstated and double-counted speculative load by AEP.
The OMA is considering its options to appeal the PUCO’s decision.”
Background
AEP Ohio initially filed its application for a new data center-specific tariff on May 14, 2024. Two separate settlement agreements followed in October 2024. The first, filed on Oct. 10, included input from Microsoft, Amazon Data Services, Google, the Data Center Coalition, and other major stakeholders in the tech and energy sectors. The second agreement—filed Oct. 23—was backed by AEP Ohio, PUCO staff, OCC, the Ohio Energy Group, Walmart, and Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy.
The case underwent both evidentiary and public hearings between December 2024 and January 2025. A final public hearing was held in Columbus on Jan. 3, 2025.
The Commission’s full order is available at PUCO.ohio.gov by searching for case number 24-508-EL-ATA in the Docketing Information System.
