By Steve Berg
They don’t agree on much, but both Republicans and Democrats say there’s growing bipartisan agreement to take steps to protect the average consumers from rate hikes that are believed to be tied to the growing number of data centers.
State Representative Amanda Clinton (D-Tulsa) and State Representative Brad Boles (R-Marlow) are working together on House Bill 2992, that will try to make sure that data centers – or any large-load electric user for that matter – would have to cover the cost for any system upgrades needed for their project, with the goal of preventing having those costs passed on to everyday consumers.
Clinton authored a similar bill that passed a House Utilities Committee with unanimous support earlier in the current legislative session and says she’s now decided to consolidate her efforts with Boles to co-author House Bill 2992, which she says is now eligible to be heard on the full House Floor.
“As data centers and other energy-intensive projects expand in Oklahoma, we must ensure that working families and small businesses are not left paying for infrastructure built to support billion-dollar companies,” Clinton said in a written statement.
“With more than a dozen potential data centers considering our state, we must make sure everyday Oklahomans are not left paying higher electric bills because of increased demand,” Boles said in a written statement. “This is about protecting ratepayers and ensuring large energy users pay for the infrastructure needed to support their operations instead of shifting those costs onto families and small businesses.”
