Columbus, Ohio, USA
#00225
Implements
#00220 Create a large-load tariff class with minimum take, long contract term and exit fees
Implementer
Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, on application by AEP Ohio
Timeline
Since Jul 9, 2025
Location
Description
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved a dedicated tariff for data-center customers on 9 July 2025, on application by AEP Ohio. 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. Exit fees equal three years of minimum charges, plus collateral and creditworthiness requirements apply. The instrument is a rate case requiring only regulatory approval — no new legislation. After the tariff took effect, AEP's large-load forecast fell by approximately 50%, as the take-or-pay obligation made speculative and duplicate interconnection requests expensive. 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.
Metrics
5Lessons learned
- Pricing the option to connect is the cheapest available test of whether demand is real: halving a forecast without building anything is a larger effect than most physical interventions achieve.
- The instrument is a rate case, not a land use fight — it requires regulatory nerve rather than capital, and can be adopted by a commission without new legislation.
- Expect coordinated opposition from hyperscalers and industrial customer groups on discrimination grounds; Ohio's commission held, but the legal risk is live and unresolved.
- This addresses cost allocation only — noise, water and air quality at any specific site are entirely untouched, so a community adopting it expecting siting relief will be disappointed.
Sources
3