Oklahoma House Committee Moves Forward Bill on Data Center Grid Costs

An Oklahoma House budget subcommittee has approved legislation aimed at protecting residential ratepayers from having to foot the bill for new infrastructure driven by rising data center demand.

“This would make sure that regular ratepayers aren’t having to pay for those really high energy costs, and the surcharge would be put into a dedicated fund that would go toward grid modernization,” Dollens said. “So, this is really a win-win for everyone. It’s a win for Oklahoma ratepayers, but also our grid.”

“It’s not too often you have something that passes unanimously with bipartisan support, but I think that really speaks to this issue of how many Oklahomans are talking about data centers and protecting our water and making sure that people, especially on fixed incomes, aren’t paying more than their fair share,” he said