Columbus, Ohio, USA

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved a dedicated tariff for data centre customers on 9 July 2025. Customers at or above 25 MW must pay for at least 85% of contracted capacity regardless of actual consumption, over a 12-year minimum term with a four-year ramp, with exit fees equal to three years of minimum charges plus collateral and creditworthiness requirements. After the tariff took effect, AEP's large-load forecast fell by half — a take-or-pay obligation made speculative and duplicate interconnection requests expensive, and roughly half of the apparent demand evaporated once someone had to pay to hold a place in the queue. The instrument is a rate case requiring only regulatory approval, with no new legislation. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and the Ohio Manufacturers' Association opposed the tariff as discriminatory; the commission rejected rehearing and a state supreme court appeal was signalled.