Software giant Oracle has filed a legal challenge in response to an order by Wisconsin regulators that requires large data centers to post financial guarantees for electric service if their credit rating is below a certain threshold.
The company lodged a lawsuit on Friday in Ozaukee County Circuit Court challenging the Wisconsin Public Service Commission’s April order establishing terms and conditions for data centers to receive electric service.
Oracle, a partner in the $15 billion Stargate data center in Port Washington, Wisconsin, said the PSC requirement would force the company to post a letter of credit for electric service that would cost more than $100 million annually in fees. The company said the requirement is unreasonable and would chill further data center investment in Wisconsin.
The financial security requirement “will impose substantial and unreasonable costs on customers taking electric service … and the magnitude of these costs are wholly disproportionate to the risks,” Oracle’s petition said.
