Dewine Takes Action On Data Centers

Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, on Thursday joined nearly half of the governors in the country in signing onto President Donald Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge. The pledge would require AI companies and data center operators pay the utility and infrastructure costs of data centers, not consumers.

“America’s continued economic and technological leadership depends on reliable, large-scale data center infrastructure built here at home. Data center infrastructure is the foundation of the internet, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI), and supports our economic and national security,” a news release from the White House said.

“As that infrastructure grows and the related electricity demand increases, the American people should not be footing the bill for the benefit of private companies. Instead, the data center boom should be leveraged to address affordability and benefit all American households and businesses.”

“Importantly, they will pay these rates for the power and related infrastructure that are brought online to service their data centers, whether they use the electricity or not,” the news release said. “This will protect the American people from increased utility bills as a result of the development of these data centers.”

Reporting from the Columbus Dispatch noted the pledge was first announced in March and is non-binding.

“As demand for electricity continues to grow, we must protect consumers, strengthen our grid and ensure economic development is achieved without shifting costs onto the people we serve,” DeWine is also quoted as saying.

Other states that signed onto the pledge, all led by Republican governors, include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The signatures follow an addendum to that release. “We the undersigned pledge to implement the principles established in the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, to the greatest extent possible in our respective positions, in order to protect American consumers from price hikes due to data center energy and infrastructure requirements, and lower electricity costs for consumers in the long term while developing the infrastructure needed to maintain America’s economic and technological leadership,” the addendum reads.

DeWine in late May announced a pause in consideration of new tax exemptions for data centers. He still praised data centers, though.

Reporting from NBC 4 highlighted state bills introduced to curb higher energy costs, with data centers being blamed. With approximately 200 data centers and plans for more, Ohio has the sixth-most in the country.

Patrick Hedger, director of policy at NetChoice, previously spoke with the Daily Signal to praise data centers, from the jobs they provide, to property taxes, to “positive secondary effects,” such as a business-friendly environment.

“It is already the law in all 50 states that public utility commissions cannot offload the cost of a large user onto the residential retail base,” Hedger added, pointing out that “data centers are paying their way.”

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who had served as DeWine’s lieutenant governor until he was appointed to replace now Vice President JD Vance, introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act this week to protect American taxpayers from having to foot the bill for data centers.

“If America wants to lead the world in AI and strengthen our national security, we have to build the energy infrastructure to support it. But we must do that without passing the costs on to working families and small businesses. The Ratepayer Protection Act would keep America globally competitive while protecting Ohioans and Americans from higher electricity bills,” Husted said.

The companion bill in the House is bipartisan, sponsored by Reps. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., and Kathy Castor, D-Fla.