Oklahoma is poised to require data centers and other large electric users to pay the cost of connecting to the grid after state lawmakers settled on legislation this week and sent it to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt.
HB 2992 would apply to customers who plan to use more than 75 megawatts of power — and require them to pay for new infrastructure such as wires, poles, substations and power plants, said state Rep. Brad Boles, the bill’s author.
Oklahoma has some of the lowest power rates in the country, making it attractive for large data center developers like the artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industries. The state’s average electric rate of 9.36 cents per kilowatt-hour in February was about a third lower than the national average, according to federal data.
But a growing number of residents have pushed back against new data center projects as a threat to energy costs and water supplies, and some cities have temporarily blocked new data centers.
